,,society ,,and ,,solitude4             
,,twelve ,,chapters4      ,,by          
,,ralph ,,waldo ,,emerson4              
,illustration      ,,boston3            
,,fields1 ,,osgood1  ,,co4    #ahgj4    
,entered according to ,act of ,congress1
 in the year #ahgj1 by      ,,ralph     
,,waldo ,,emerson1      in the ,clerk's 
,office of the ,district ,court of the  
,district of    ,massachusetts4         
,,university ,,press3 ,,welch1          
,,bigelow1  ,,co41    ,,cambridge4      
,,contents4                             
,,page      ,,society ,,and ,,solitude  
#a      ,,civilization             #ae  
,,art                      #ca          
,,eloquence                #ec          
,,domestic ,,life            #ia        
,,farming                 #aba          
,,works ,,and ,,days          #aci      
,,books                   #afg          
,,clubs                   #aii          
,,courage                 #bbe          
,,success                 #bea          
,,old ,,age                 #bgi        

,,society ,,and ,,solitude4             
,,society ,,and ,,solitude4      ,i fell
 in with a humorist1 on my travels1 who 
had in his chamber a  cast of the       
,rondanini ,medusa1 and who assured me  
that the name which  that fine work of  
art bore in the catalogues was a        
misnomer1 as he  was convinced that the 
sculptor who carved it intended it for  
,memory1  the mother of the ,muses4 ,in 
the conversation that followed1 my new  
friend made some extraordinary          
confessions4 8,do you not see10 he said1
  8the penalty of learning1 and that    
each of these scholars whom you  have   
met at ,s----1 though he were to be the 
last man1 would1 like the  executioner  
in ,hood's poem1 guillotine the last but
 one80 ,he added many  lively remarks1  
but his evident earnestness engaged my  
attention1 and1  in the weeks that      
followed1 we became better acquainted4  
,he had good  abilities1 a genial       
temper1 and no vices2 but he had one    
defect1--he  could not speak in the tone

 of the people4 ,there was some         
paralysis  on his will1 such that1 when 
he met men on common terms1 he spoke    
weakly1 and from the point1 like a      
flighty girl4 ,his consciousness  of the
 fault made it worse4 ,he envied every  
drover and lumberman in  the tavern     
their manly speech4 ,he coveted         
,mirabeau's don terrible de  la         
familiarit1 believing that he whose     
sympathy goes lowest is the  man from   
whom kings have the most to fear4 ,for  
himself1 he declared  that he could not 
get enough alone to write a letter to a 
friend4 ,he  left the city2 he hid      
himself in pastures4 ,the solitary river
 was not  solitary enough2 the sun and  
moon put him out4 ,when he bought a     
house1  the first thing he did was to   
plant trees4 ,he could not enough       
conceal  himself4 ,set a hedge here2 set
 oaks there1--trees behind trees2 above 
all1 set evergreens1 for they will keep 
a secret all the year round4  ,the most 
agreeable compliment you could pay him  

was1 to imply that you  had not observed
 him in a house or a street where you   
had met him4  ,whilst he suffered at    
being seen where he was1 he consoled    
himself with  the delicious thought of  
the inconceivable number of places where
 he  was not4 ,all he wished of his     
tailor was to provide that sober mean   
of color and cut which would never      
detain the eye for a moment4 ,he  went  
to ,vienna1 to ,smyrna1 to ,london4 ,in 
all the variety of costumes1  a         
carnival1 a kaleidoscope of clothes1 to 
his horror he could never  discover a   
man in the street who wore anything like
 his own dress4 ,he  would have given   
his soul for the ring of ,gyges4 ,his   
dismay at his  visibility had blunted   
the fears of mortality4 8,do you think10
 he  said1 8,i am in such great terror  
of being shot1--,i1 who am only waiting 
to shuffle off my corporeal jacket1 to  
slip away into the back stars1  and put 
diameters of the solar system and       
sidereal orbits between me  and all     

souls1--there to wear out ages in       
solitude1 and forget memory  itself1 if 
it be possible80 ,he had a remorse      
running to despair1 of his  social      
gaucheries1 and walked miles and miles  
to get the twitchings  out of his face1 
the starts and shrugs out of his arms   
and shoulders4  ,god may forgive sins1  
he said1 but awkwardness has no         
forgiveness in  heaven or earth4 ,he    
admired in ,newton1 not so much his     
theory of the  moon1 as his letter to   
,collins1 in which he forbade him to    
insert  his name with the solution of   
the problem in the 8,philosophical      
,transactions03 8,it would perhaps      
increase my acquaintance1 the thing     
which ,i chiefly study to decline40     
,these conversations led me somewhat    
later to the knowledge of  similar      
cases1 and to the discovery that they   
are not of very  infrequent occurrence4 
,few substances are found pure in       
nature4  ,those constitutions which can 
bear in open day the rough dealing of   

the world must be of that mean and      
average structure1--such as iron  and   
salt1 atmospheric air1 and water4 ,but  
there are metals1 like  potassium and   
sodium1 which1 to be kept pure1 must be 
kept under  naphtha4 ,such are the      
talents determined on some specialty1   
which a  culminating civilization       
fosters in the heart of great cities and
 in  royal chambers4 ,nature protects   
her own work4 ,to the culture of the    
world1 an ,archimedes1 a ,newton is     
indispensable2 so she guards them by  a 
certain aridity4 ,if these had been good
 fellows1 fond of dancing1  port1 and   
clubs1 we should have had no 8,theory of
 the ,sphere10 and no  8,principia40    
,they had that necessity of isolation   
which genius feels4  ,each must stand on
 his glass tripod1 if he would keep his 
electricity4  ,even ,swedenborg1 whose  
theory of the universe is based on      
affection1  and who reprobates to       
weariness the danger and vice of pure   
intellect1  is constrained to make an   

extraordinary exception3 8,there are    
also  angels who do not live            
consociated1 but separate1 house and    
house2  these dwell in the midst of     
heaven1 because they are the best of    
angels40    ,we have known many fine    
geniuses with that imperfection that    
they  cannot do anything useful1 not so 
much as write one clean sentence4  ',tis
 worse1 and tragic1 that no man is fit  
for society who has fine  traits4 ,at a 
distance1 he is admired2 but bring him  
hand to hand1 he  is a cripple4 ,one    
protects himself by solitude1 and one by
 courtesy1  and one by an acid1 worldly 
manner1--each concealing how he can the 
thinness of his skin and his incapacity 
for strict association4 ,but  there is  
no remedy that can reach the heart of   
the disease1 but either  habits of      
self-reliance that should go in practice
 to making the man  independent of the  
human race1 or else a religion of love4 
,now he  hardly seems entitled to marry2
 for how can he protect a woman1 who    

cannot protect himself8    ,we pray to  
be conventional4 ,but the wary ,heaven  
takes care you shall  not be1 if there  
is anything good in you4 ,dante was very
 bad company1  and was never invited to 
dinner4 ,michel ,angelo had a sad1 sour 
time  of it4 ,the ministers of beauty   
are rarely beautiful in coaches and     
saloons4 ,columbus discovered no isle or
 key so lonely as himself4 ,yet  each of
 these potentates saw well the reason of
 his exclusion4 ,solitary  was he8 ,why1
 yes2 but his society was limited only  
by the amount of  brain ,nature         
appropriated in that age to carry on the
 government of the  world4 8,if ,i      
stay10 said ,dante1 when there was      
question of going to  ,rome1 8who will  
go8 and if ,i go1 who will stay80       
,but the necessity of solitude is deeper
 than we have said1 and is  organic4 ,i 
have seen many a philosopher whose world
 is large enough for  only one person4  
,he affects to be a good companion2 but 
we are still  surprising his secret1    

that he means and needs to impose his   
system on  all the rest4 ,the           
determination of each is from all the   
others1 like  that of each tree up into 
free space4 ',tis no wonder1 when each  
has his  whole head1 our societies      
should be so small4 ,like ,president    
,tyler1  our party falls from us every  
day1 and we must ride in a sulky at     
last4  ,dear heart6 take it sadly home  
to thee1--there is no co-operation4  ,we
 begin with friendships1 and all our    
youth is a reconnoitring and  recruiting
 of the holy fraternity they shall      
combine for the salvation  of men4 ,but 
so the remoter stars seem a nebula of   
united light2 yet  there is no group    
which a telescope will not resolve1 and 
the dearest  friends are separated by   
impassable gulfs4 ,the co-operation is  
involuntary1 and is put upon us by the  
,genius of ,life1 who reserves  this as 
a part of his prerogative4 ',tis fine   
for us to talk1 we sit and  muse1 and   
are serene and complete2 but the moment 

we meet with anybody1  each becomes a   
fraction4    ,though the stuff of       
tragedy and of romances is in a moral   
union of two  superior persons1 whose   
confidence in each other for long years1
 out of  sight1 and in sight1 and       
against all appearances1 is at last     
justified  by victorious proof of       
probity to gods and men1 causing joyful 
emotions1 tears and glory1--though there
 be for heroes this moral  union1 yet1  
they1 too1 are as far off as ever from  
an intellectual  union1 and the moral   
union is for comparatively low and      
external  purposes1 like the            
co-operation of a ship's company or of a
 fire-club4  ,but how insular and       
pathetically solitary are all the people
 we know6  ,nor dare they tell what they
 think of each other1 when they meet in 
the street4 ,we have a fine right1 to be
 sure1 to taunt men of the world  with  
superficial and treacherous courtesies6 
,such is the tragic necessity which     
strict science finds underneath  our    

domestic and neighborly life1           
irresistibly driving each adult  soul as
 with whips into the desert1 and making 
our warm covenants  sentimental and     
momentary4 ,we must infer that the ends 
of thought were  peremptory1 if they    
were to be secured at such ruinous cost4
 ,they are  deeper than can be told1 and
 belong to the immensities and          
eternities4  ,they reach down to that   
depth where society itself originates   
and  disappears1--where the question is1
 ,which is first1 man or men8--where    
the individual is lost in his source4   
,but this banishment to the rocks and   
echoes no metaphysics can make  right or
 tolerable4 ,this result is so against  
nature1 such a half-view1  that it must 
be corrected by a common sense and      
experience4 8,a man is  born by the side
 of his father1 and there he remains40  
,a man must be  clothed with society1 or
 we shall feel a certain bareness and   
poverty1  as of a displaced and         
unfurnished member4 ,he is to be dressed

 in  arts and institutions1 as well as  
in body-garments4 ,now and then a  man  
exquisitely made can live alone1 and    
must2 but coop up most men1  and you    
undo them4 8,the king lived and ate in  
his hall with men1 and  understood men10
 said ,selden4 ,when a young barrister  
said to the late  ,mr4 ,mason1 8,i keep 
my chamber to read law10--8,read law60  
replied the  veteran1 8'tis in the      
court-room you must read law40 ,nor is  
the rule  otherwise for literature4 ,if 
you would learn to write1 'tis in the   
street you must learn it4 ,both for the 
vehicle and for the aims of fine  arts1 
you must frequent the public square4    
,the people1 and not the  college1 is   
the writer's home4 ,a scholar is a      
candle which the love and  desire of all
 men will light4 ,never his lands or his
 rents1 but the  power to charm the     
disguised soul that sits veiled under   
this bearded  and that rosy visage is   
his rent and ration4 ,his products are  
as  needful as those of the baker or the

 weaver4 ,society cannot do without     
cultivated men4 ,as soon as the first   
wants are satisfied1 the higher  wants  
become imperative4    ',tis hard to     
mesmerize ourselves1 to whip our own    
top2 but through  sympathy we are       
capable of energy and endurance4        
,concert fires people  to a certain fury
 of performance they can rarely reach   
alone4 ,here is  the use of society3 it 
is so easy with the great to be great2  
so easy  to come up to an existing      
standard2--as easy as it is to the lover
  to swim to his maiden through waves so
 grim before4 ,the benefits of          
affection are immense2 and the one event
 which never loses its romance  is the  
encounter with superior persons on terms
 allowing the happiest  intercourse4    
,it by no means follows that we are not 
fit for society1 because  soires are    
tedious1 and because the soire finds us 
tedious4 ,a  backwoodsman1 who had been 
sent to the university1 told me that1   
when  he heard the best-bred young men  

at the law-school talk together1 he     
reckoned himself a boor2 but whenever he
 caught them apart1 and had one  to     
himself alone1 then they were the boors1
 and he the better man4 ,and  if we     
recall the rare hours when we           
encountered the best persons1 we  then  
found ourselves1 and then first society 
seemed to exist4 ,that was  society1    
though in the transom of a brig1 or on  
the ,florida ,keys4    ,a cold1 sluggish
 blood thinks it has not facts enough to
 the purpose1  and must decline its turn
 in the conversation4 ,but they who     
speak  have no more1--have less4 ',tis  
not new facts that avail1 but the heat  
to dissolve everybody's facts4 ,heat    
puts you in right relation with         
magazines of facts4 ,the capital defect 
of cold1 arid natures is the  want of   
animal spirits4 ,they seem a power      
incredible1 as if ,god should  raise the
 dead4 ,the recluse witnesses what      
others perform by their  aid1 with a    
kind of fear4 ,it is as much out of his 

possibility as the  prowess of ,cur de  
,lion1 or an ,irishman's day's-work on  
the railroad4  ',tis said1 the present  
and the future are always rivals4       
,animal spirits  constitute the power of
 the present1 and their feats are like  
the  structure of a pyramid4 ,their     
result is a lord1 a general1 or a boon  
companion4 ,before these1 what a base   
mendicant is ,memory with his  leathern 
badge6 ,but this genial heat is latent  
in all constitutions1  and is disengaged
 only by the friction of society4 ,as   
,bacon said of  manners1 8,to obtain    
them1 it only needs not to despise      
them10 so we say  of animal spirits1    
that they are the spontaneous product of
 health and  of a social habit4 8,for   
behavior1 men learn it1 as they take    
diseases1  one of another40    ,but the 
people are to be taken in very small    
doses4 ,if solitude is  proud1 so is    
society vulgar4 ,in society1 high       
advantages are set  down to the         
individual as disqualifications4 ,we    

sink as easily as we  rise1 through     
sympathy4 ,so many men whom ,i know are 
degraded by their  sympathies1 their    
native aims being high enough1 but their
 relation  all too tender to the gross  
people about them4 ,men cannot afford to
  live together on their merits1 and    
they adjust themselves by their         
demerits1--by their love of gossip1 or  
by sheer tolerance and animal           
good-nature4 ,they untune and dissipate 
the brave aspirant4    ,the remedy is1  
to reinforce each of these moods from   
the other4  ,conversation will not      
corrupt us1 if we come to the assembly  
in our  own garb and speech1 and with   
the energy of health to select what  is 
ours and reject what is not4 ,society we
 must have2 but let it be  society1 and 
not exchanging news1 or eating from the 
same dish4 ,is it  society to sit in one
 of your chairs8 ,i cannot go to the    
houses of my  nearest relatives1 because
 ,i do not wish to be alone4 ,society   
exists by  chemical affinity1 and not   

otherwise4    ,put any company of people
 together with freedom for conversation1
 and a  rapid self-distribution takes   
place1 into sets and pairs4 ,the best   
are  accused of exclusiveness4 ,it would
 be more true to say1 they separate  as 
oil from water1 as children from old    
people1 without love or hatred  in the  
matter1 each seeking his like2 and any  
interference with the  affinities would 
produce constraint and suffocation4 ,all
 conversation  is a magnetic experiment4
 ,i know that my friend can talk        
eloquently2  you know that he cannot    
articulate a sentence3 we have seen him 
in  different company4 ,assort your     
party1 or invite none4 ,put ,stubbs and 
,coleridge1 ,quintilian and ,aunt       
,miriam1 into pairs1 and you make them  
all wretched4 ',tis an extempore        
,sing-,sing built in a parlor4 ,leave   
them  to seek their own mates1 and they 
will be as merry as sparrows4    ,a     
higher civility will re-establish in our
 customs a certain reverence  which we  

have lost4 ,what to do with these brisk 
young men who break  through all fences1
 and make themselves at home in every   
house8 ,i find  out in an instant if my 
companion does not want me1 and ropes   
cannot  hold me when my welcome is gone4
 ,one would think that the affinities   
would pronounce themselves with a surer 
reciprocity4    ,here again1 as so      
often1 ,nature delights to put us       
between extreme  antagonisms1 and our   
safety is in the skill with which we    
keep the  diagonal line4 ,solitude is   
impracticable1 and society fatal4 ,we   
must  keep our head in the one and our  
hands in the other4 ,the conditions are 
met1 if we keep our independence1 yet do
 not lose our sympathy4 ,these          
wonderful horses need to be driven by   
fine hands4 ,we require such a  solitude
 as shall hold us to its revelations    
when we are in the street  and in       
palaces2 for most men are cowed in      
society1 and say good things  to you in 
private1 but will not stand to them in  

public4 ,but let us  not be the victims 
of words4 ,society and solitude are     
deceptive names4  ,it is not the        
circumstance of seeing more or fewer    
people1 but the  readiness of sympathy1 
that imports2 and a sound mind will     
derive its  principles from insight1    
with ever a purer ascent to the         
sufficient and  absolute right1 and will
 accept society as the natural element  
in which  they are to be applied4       
,,civilization4          ,,civilization4
      ,a certain degree of progress from
 the rudest state in which man is       
found1--a dweller in caves1 or on trees1
 like an ape1--a cannibal1  and eater of
 pounded snails1 worms1 and offal1--a   
certain degree of  progress from this   
extreme is called ,civilization4 ,it is 
a vague1  complex name1 of many degrees4
 ,nobody has attempted a definition4    
,mr4 ,guizot1 writing a book on the     
subject1 does not4 ,it implies the      
evolution of a highly organized man1    
brought to supreme delicacy of          

sentiment1 as in practical power1       
religion1 liberty1 sense of honor1  and 
taste4 ,in the hesitation to define what
 it is1 we usually suggest  it by       
negations4 ,a nation that has no        
clothing1 no iron1 no alphabet1  no     
marriage1 no arts of peace1 no abstract 
thought1 we call barbarous4  ,and after 
many arts are invented or imported1 as  
among the ,turks  and ,moorish nations1 
it is often a little complaisant to call
 them  civilized4    ,each nation grows 
after its own genius1 and has a         
civilization of its  own4 ,the ,chinese 
and ,japanese1 though each complete in  
his way1 is  different from the man of  
,madrid or the man of ,new ,york4 ,the  
term  imports a mysterious progress4 ,in
 the brutes is none2 and in mankind     
to-day the savage tribes are gradually  
extinguished rather than  civilized4    
,the ,indians of this country have not  
learned the white man's  work2 and in   
,africa1 the negro of to-day is the     
negro of ,herodotus4  ,in other races   

the growth is not arrested2 but the like
 progress that  is made by a boy 8when  
he cuts his eye-teeth10 as we           
say1--childish  illusions passing daily 
away1 and he seeing things really and   
comprehensively1--is made by tribes4 ,it
 is the learning the secret of          
cumulative power1 of advancing on one's 
self4 ,it implies a facility  of        
association1 power to compare1 the      
ceasing from fixed ideas4 ,the  ,indian 
is gloomy and distressed when urged to  
depart from his habits  and traditions4 
,he is overpowered by the gaze of the   
white1 and his eye  sinks4 ,the occasion
 of one of these starts of growth is    
always some  novelty that astounds the  
mind1 and provokes it to dare to change4
 ,thus  there is a ,cadmus1 a ,pytheas1 
a ,manco ,capac at the beginning of each
  improvement1--some superior foreigner 
importing new and wonderful arts1  and  
teaching them4 ,of course1 he must not  
know too much1 but must have  the       
sympathy1 language1 and gods of those he

 would inform4 ,but chiefly  the        
sea-shore has been the point of         
departure to knowledge1 as to  commerce4
 ,the most advanced nations are always  
those who navigate the  most4 ,the power
 which the sea requires in the sailor   
makes a man of him  very fast1 and the  
change of shores and population clears  
his head of  much nonsense of his       
wigwam4    ,where shall we begin or end 
the list of those feats of liberty and  
wit1 each of which feats made an epoch  
of history8 ,thus1 the effect  of a     
framed or stone house is immense on the 
tranquillity1 power1 and  refinement of 
the builder4 ,a man in a cave or in a   
camp1 a nomad1  will die with no more   
estate than the wolf or the horse       
leaves4 ,but  so simple a labor as a    
house being achieved1 his chief enemies 
are  kept at bay4 ,he is safe from the  
teeth of wild animals1 from frost1      
sun-stroke1 and weather2 and fine       
faculties begin to yield their fine     
harvest4 ,invention and art are born1   

manners and social beauty and  delight4 
',tis wonderful how soon a piano gets   
into a log-hut on the  frontier4 ,you   
would think they found it under a       
pine-stump4 ,with it  comes a ,latin    
grammar1--and one of those tow-head boys
 has written a  hymn on ,sunday4 ,now   
let colleges1 now let senates take heed6
 for here  is one who1 opening these    
fine tastes on the basis of the         
pioneer's  iron constitution1 will      
gather all their laurels in his strong  
hands4    ,when the ,indian trail gets  
widened1 graded1 and bridged to a good  
road1 there is a benefactor1 there is a 
missionary1 a pacificator1  a           
wealth-bringer1 a maker of markets1 a   
vent for industry4 ,another  step in    
civility is the change from war1        
hunting1 and pasturage to  agriculture4 
,our ,scandinavian forefathers have left
 us a significant  legend to convey     
their sense of the importance of this   
step4 8,there  was once a giantess who  
had a daughter1 and the child saw a     

husbandman  ploughing in the field4     
,then she ran and picked him up with her
 finger  and thumb1 and put him and his 
plough and his oxen into her apron1 and 
carried them to her mother1 and said1   
#8,mother1 what sort of a beetle is     
this that ,i found wriggling in the     
sand8' ,but the mother said1 #8,put it  
away1 my child2 we must begone out of   
this land1 for these people will  dwell 
in it4'0 ,another success is the        
post-office1 with its educating  energy 
augmented by cheapness and guarded by a 
certain religious  sentiment in mankind2
 so that the power of a wafer or a drop 
of wax or  gluten to guard a letter1 as 
it flies over sea1 over land1 and comes 
to  its address as if a battalion of    
artillery brought it1 ,i look upon as a 
fine metre of civilization4    ,the     
division of labor1 the multiplication of
 the arts of peace1 which  is nothing   
but a large allowance to each man to    
choose his work  according to his       
faculty1--to live by his better         

hand1--fills the ,state  with useful and
 happy laborers2 and they1 creating     
demand by the very  temptation of their 
productions1 are rapidly and surely     
rewarded by  good sale3 and what a      
police and ten commandments their work  
thus  becomes4 ,so true is ,dr4         
,johnson's remark that 8men are seldom  
more  innocently employed than when they
 are making money40    ,the skilful     
combinations of civil government1 though
 they usually  follow natural leadings1 
as the lines of race1 language1         
religion1 and  territory1 yet require   
wisdom and conduct in the rulers1 and in
 their  result delight the imagination4 
8,we see insurmountable multitudes      
obeying1 in opposition to their         
strongest passions1 the restraints  of a
 power which they scarcely perceive1 and
 the crimes of a single  individual     
marked and punished at the distance of  
half the earth40,a    ,right position of
 woman in the ,state is another index4  
,poverty and  industry with a healthy   

mind read very easily the laws of       
humanity1 and  love them3 place the     
sexes in right relations of mutual      
respect1 and  a severe morality gives   
that essential charm to woman which     
educates  all that is delicate1 poetic1 
and self-sacrificing1 breeds courtesy   
and learning1 conversation and wit1 in  
her rough mate2 so that ,i have  thought
 a sufficient measure of civilization is
 the influence of good  women4          
,another measure of culture is the      
diffusion of knowledge1 overrunning  all
 the old barriers of caste1 and1 by the 
cheap press1 bringing the  university to
 every poor man's door in the newsboy's 
basket4 ,scraps of  science1 of thought1
 of poetry are in the coarsest sheet1 so
 that in  every house we hesitate to    
burn a newspaper until we have looked it
  through4    ,the ship1 in its latest  
complete equipment1 is an abridgment    
and compend of a nation's arts3 the ship
 steered by compass  and                
chart1--longitude reckoned by lunar     

observation and by  chronometer1--driven
 by steam2 and in wildest sea-mountains1
 at vast  distances from home1          
8,the pulses of her iron heart    ,go   
beating through the storm40    ,no use  
can lessen the wonder of this control1  
by so weak a creature1 of  forces so    
prodigious4 ,i remember ,i watched1 in  
crossing the sea1 the  beautiful skill  
whereby the engine in its constant      
working was made to  produce two hundred
 gallons of fresh water out of          
salt-water1 every  hour1--thereby       
supplying all the ship's want4    ,the  
skill that pervades complex details2 the
 man that maintains  himself2 the       
chimney taught to burn its own smoke2   
the farm made to  produce all that is   
consumed on it2 the very prison         
compelled to  maintain itself and yield 
a revenue1 and1 better still1 made a    
reform  school1 and a manufactory of    
honest men out of rogues1 as the steamer
  made fresh water out of salt1--all    
these are examples of that tendency  to 

combine antagonisms1 and utilize evil1  
which is the index of high              
civilization4    ,civilization is the   
result of highly complex organization4  
,in the  snake1 all the organs are      
sheathed2 no hands1 no feet1 no fins1 no
  wings4 ,in bird and beast1 the organs 
are released1 and begin to play4  ,in   
man1 they are all unbound1 and full of  
joyful action4 ,with this  unswaddling  
he receives the absolute illumination we
 call ,reason1 and  thereby true        
liberty4    ,climate has much to do with
 this melioration4 ,the highest civility
 has  never loved the hot zones4        
,wherever snow falls1 there is usually  
civil  freedom4 ,where the banana grows1
 the animal system is indolent and      
pampered at the cost of higher          
qualities3 the man is sensual and cruel4
  ,but this scale is not invariable4    
,high degrees of moral sentiment        
control the unfavorable influences of   
climate2 and some of our grandest       
examples of men and of races come from  

the equatorial regions1--as the  genius 
of ,egypt1 of ,india1 and of ,arabia4   
,these feats are measures or traits of  
civility2 and temperate climate  is an  
important influence1 though not quite   
indispensable1 for there  have been     
learning1 philosophy1 and art in        
,iceland1 and in the tropics4  ,but one 
condition is essential to the social    
education of man1 namely1  morality4    
,there can be no high civility without a
 deep morality1 though  it may not      
always call itself by that name1 but    
sometimes the point  of honor1 as in the
 institution of chivalry2 or patriotism1
 as in the  ,spartan and ,roman         
republics2 or the enthusiasm of some    
religious sect  which imputes its virtue
 to its dogma2 or the cabalism1 or      
esprit de  corps1 of a masonic or other 
association of friends4    ,the         
evolution of a highly-destined society  
must be moral2 it must run  in the      
grooves of the celestial wheels4 ,it    
must be catholic in aims4  ,what is     

moral8 ,it is the respecting in action  
catholic or universal  ends4 ,hear the  
definition which ,kant gives of moral   
conduct3 8,act  always so that the      
immediate motive of thy will may become 
a universal  rule for all intelligent   
beings40    ,civilization depends on    
morality4 ,everything good in man leans 
on what  is higher4 ,this rule holds in 
small as in great4 ,thus1 all our       
strength  and success in the work of our
 hands depend on our borrowing the aid  
of  the elements4 ,you have seen a      
carpenter on a ladder with a broad-axe  
chopping upward chips from a beam4 ,how 
awkward6 at what disadvantage he  works6
 ,but see him on the ground1 dressing   
his timber under him4 ,now1  not his    
feeble muscles1 but the force of gravity
 brings down the axe2  that is to say1  
the planet itself splits his stick4 ,the
 farmer had much  ill-temper1 laziness1 
and shirking to endure from his         
hand-sawyers1  until one day he         
bethought him to put his saw-mill on the

 edge of a  waterfall2 and the river    
never tires of turning his wheel3 the   
river is  good-natured1 and never hints 
an objection4    ,we had letters to     
send3 couriers could not go fast enough1
 nor far  enough2 broke their wagons1   
foundered their horses2 bad roads in    
spring1 snow-drifts in winter1 heats in 
summer2 could not get the  horses out of
 a walk4 ,but we found out that the air 
and earth were  full of ,electricity2   
and always going our way1--just the way 
we wanted  to send4 ,would he take a    
message8 ,just as lief as not2 had      
nothing  else to do2 would carry it in  
no time4 ,only one doubt occurred1 one  
staggering objection1--he had no        
carpet-bag1 no visible pockets1 no      
hands1 not so much as a mouth1 to carry 
a letter4 ,but1 after much  thought and 
many experiments1 we managed to meet the
 conditions1 and  to fold up the letter 
in such invisible compact form as he    
could  carry in those invisible pockets 
of his1 never wrought by needle and     

thread1--and it went like a charm4    ,i
 admire still more than the saw-mill the
 skill which1 on the  sea-shore1 makes  
the tides drive the wheels and grind    
corn1 and which  thus engages the       
assistance of the moon1 like a hired    
hand1 to grind1  and wind1 and pump1 and
 saw1 and split stone1 and roll iron4   
,now that is the wisdom of a man1 in    
every instance of his labor1  to hitch  
his wagon to a star1 and see his chore  
done by the gods  themselves4 ,that is  
the way we are strong1 by borrowing the 
might of  the elements4 ,the forces of  
steam1 gravity1 galvanism1 light1       
magnets1  wind1 fire1 serve us day by   
day1 and cost us nothing4    ,our       
astronomy is full of examples of calling
 in the aid of these  magnificent       
helpers4 ,thus1 on a planet so small as 
ours1 the want of  an adequate base for 
astronomical measurements is early felt1
 as1 for  example1 in detecting the     
parallax of a star4 ,but the astronomer1
  having by an observation fixed the    

place of a star1 by so simple an        
expedient as waiting six months1 and    
then repeating his observation1         
contrived to put the diameter of the    
earth's orbit1 say two hundred  millions
 of miles1 between his first observation
 and his second1 and  this line afforded
 him a respectable base for his         
triangle4    ,all our arts aim to win   
this vantage4 ,we cannot bring the      
heavenly  powers to us1 but1 if we will 
only choose our jobs in directions in   
which they travel1 they will undertake  
them with the greatest pleasure4  ,it is
 a peremptory rule with them1 that they 
never go out of their  road4 ,we are    
dapper little busybodies1 and run this  
way and that  way superserviceably2 but 
they swerve never from their            
foreordained  paths1--neither the sun1  
nor the moon1 nor a bubble of air1 nor a
 mote  of dust4    ,and as our          
handiworks borrow the elements1 so all  
our social and  political action leans  
on principles4 ,to accomplish anything  

excellent1  the will must work for      
catholic and universal ends4 ,a puny    
creature  walled in on every side1 as   
,daniel wrote1--              8,unless  
above himself he can    ,erect himself1 
how poor a thing is man60    but when   
his will leans on a principle1 when he  
is the vehicle of  ideas1 he borrows    
their omnipotence4 ,gibraltar may be    
strong1 but ideas  are impregnable1 and 
bestow on the hero their invincibility4 
8,it was  a great instruction10 said a  
saint in ,cromwell's war1 8that the best
  courages are but beams of the         
,almighty40 ,hitch your wagon to a star4
  ,let us not fag in paltry works which 
serve our pot and bag alone4 ,let  us   
not lie and steal4 ,no god will help4   
,we shall find all their teams  going   
the other way1--,charles's ,wain1 ,great
 ,bear1 ,orion1 ,leo1 ,hercules3  every 
god will leave us4 ,work rather for     
those interests which the  divinities   
honor and promote1--justice1 love1      
freedom1 knowledge1  utility4    ,if we 

can thus ride in ,olympian chariots by  
putting our works in the  path of the   
celestial circuits1 we can harness also 
evil agents1 the  powers of darkness1   
and force them to serve against their   
will the ends  of wisdom and virtue4    
,thus1 a wise government puts fines and 
penalties  on pleasant vices4 ,what a   
benefit would the ,american government1 
not  yet relieved of its extreme need1  
render to itself1 and to every city1    
village1 and hamlet in the ,states1 if  
it would tax whiskey and rum  almost to 
the point of prohibition6 ,was it       
,bonaparte who said that he  found vices
 very good patriots8--8he got five      
millions from the love of  brandy1 and  
he should be glad to know which of the  
virtues would pay  him as much40        
,tobacco and opium have broad backs1 and
 will cheerfully  carry the load of     
armies1 if you choose to make them pay  
high for such  joy as they give and such
 harm as they do4    ,these are traits1 
and measures1 and modes2 and the true   

test of  civilization is1 not the       
census1 nor the size of cities1 nor the 
crops1--no1 but the kind of man the     
country turns out4 ,i see the vast      
advantages of this country1 spanning the
 breadth of the temperate  zone4 ,i see 
the immense material prosperity1--towns 
on towns1 states  on states1 and wealth 
piled in the massive architecture of    
cities2  ,california quartz-mountains   
dumped down in ,new ,york to be repiled 
architecturally along-shore from ,canada
 to ,cuba1 and thence westward  to      
,california again4 ,but it is not ,new  
,york streets built by the  confluence  
of workmen and wealth of all nations1   
though stretching out  towards          
,philadelphia until they touch it1 and  
northward until they  touch ,new ,haven1
 ,hartford1 ,springfield1 ,worcester1   
and ,boston1--not  these that make the  
real estimation4 ,but1 when ,i look over
 this  constellation of cities which    
animate and illustrate the land1 and    
see how little the government has to do 

with their daily life1 how  self-helped 
and self-directed all families          
are1--knots of men in purely  natural   
societies1--societies of trade1 of      
kindred blood1 of habitual  hospitality1
 house and house1 man acting on man by  
weight of opinion1  of longer or        
better-directed industry1 the refining  
influence of  women1 the invitation     
which experience and permanent causes   
open to  youth and labor1--when ,i see  
how much each virtuous and gifted       
person1  whom all men consider1 lives   
affectionately with scores of excellent 
people who are not known far from home1 
and perhaps with great reason  reckons  
these people his superiors in virtue1   
and in the symmetry and  force of their 
qualities1 ,i see what cubic values     
,america has1 and  in these a better    
certificate of civilization than great  
cities or  enormous wealth4    ,in      
strictness1 the vital refinements are   
the moral and intellectual  steps4 ,the 
appearance of the ,hebrew ,moses1 of the

 ,indian ,buddh1--in  ,greece1 of the   
,seven ,wise ,masters1 of the acute and 
upright ,socrates1  and of the ,stoic   
,zeno1--in ,juda1 the advent of         
,jesus1--and in modern  ,christendom1 of
 the realists ,huss1 ,savonarola1 and   
,luther1 are causal  facts which carry  
forward races to new convictions1 and   
elevate the  rule of life4 ,in the      
presence of these agencies1 it is       
frivolous to  insist on the invention of
 printing or gunpowder1 of steam-power  
or  gas-light1 percussion-caps and      
rubber-shoes1 which are toys thrown off 
from that security1 freedom1 and        
exhilaration which a healthy morality   
creates in society4 ,these arts add a   
comfort and smoothness to house  and    
street life2 but a purer morality1 which
 kindles genius1 civilizes              
civilization1 casts backward all that we
 held sacred into the profane1  as the  
flame of oil throws a shadow when shined
 upon by the flame of  the ,bude-light4 
,not the less the popular measures of   

progress will ever  be the arts and the 
laws4    ,but if there be a country     
which cannot stand any one of these     
tests1--a  country where knowledge      
cannot be diffused without perils of    
mob-law  and statute-law1--where speech 
is not free1--where the post-office is  
violated1 mail-bags opened1 and letters 
tampered with1--where public  debts and 
private debts outside of the ,state are 
repudiated1--where  liberty is attacked 
in the primary institution of social    
life1--where  the position of the white 
woman is injuriously affected by the    
outlawry of the black woman1--where the 
arts1 such as they have1 are  all       
imported1 having no indigenous          
life1--where the laborer is not  secured
 in the earnings of his own             
hands1--where suffrage is not free  or  
equal1--that country is1 in all these   
respects1 not civil1 but  barbarous2 and
 no advantages of soil1 climate1 or     
coast can resist  these suicidal        
mischiefs4    ,morality and all the     

incidents of morality are essential2 as1
 justice  to the citizen1 and personal  
liberty4 ,montesquieu says3 8,countries 
are  well cultivated1 not as they are   
fertile1 but as they are free02 and  the
 remark holds not less but more true of 
the culture of men1 than of  the tillage
 of land4 ,and the highest proof of     
civility is1 that the  whole public     
action of the ,state is directed on     
securing the greatest  good of the      
greatest number4          ,,art4        
,,art4      ,all departments of life at 
the present day1--,trade1 ,politics1    
,letters1  ,science1 or ,religion1--seem
 to feel1 and to labor to express1 the  
identity of their law4 ,they are rays of
 one sun2 they translate each  into a   
new language the sense of the other4    
,they are sublime when seen  as         
emanations of a ,necessity              
contradistinguished from the vulgar     
,fate1  by being instant and alive1 and 
dissolving man1 as well as his works1   
in its flowing beneficence4 ,this       

influence is conspicuously visible in   
the principles and history of ,art4     
,on one side in primary communication   
with absolute truth through  thought and
 instinct1 the human mind on the other  
side tends1 by an  equal necessity1 to  
the publication and embodiment of its   
thought1  modified and dwarfed by the   
impurity and untruth which1 in all our  
experience1 injure the individuality    
through which it passes4 ,the  child not
 only suffers1 but cries2 not only      
hungers1 but eats4 ,the  man not only   
thinks1 but speaks and acts4 ,every     
thought that arises  in the mind1 in its
 rising aims to pass out of the mind    
into act2  just as every plant1 in the  
moment of germination1 struggles up to  
light4 ,thought is the seed of action2  
but action is as much its second  form  
as thought is its first4 ,it rises in   
thought1 to the end that  it may be     
uttered and acted4 ,the more profound   
the thought1 the more  burdensome4      
,always in proportion to the depth of   

its sense does it  knock importunately  
at the gates of the soul1 to be spoken1 
to be done4  ,what is in1 will out4 ,it 
struggles to the birth4 ,speech is a    
great  pleasure1 and action a great     
pleasure2 they cannot be foreborne4     
,the utterance of thought and emotion in
 speech and action may be  conscious or 
unconscious4 ,the sucking child is an   
unconscious actor4  ,the man in an      
ecstasy of fear or anger is an          
unconscious actor4 ,a large  part of our
 habitual actions are unconsciously     
done1 and most of our  necessary words  
are unconsciously said4    ,the         
conscious utterance of thought1 by      
speech or action1 to any end1  is ,art4 
,from the first imitative babble of a   
child to the despotism of  eloquence1   
from his first pile of toys or chip     
bridge to the masonry  of ,minot ,rock  
,light-house or the ,pacific ,railroad1 
from the tattooing  of the ,owhyhees to 
the ,vatican ,gallery1 from the simplest
 expedient  of private prudence to the  

,american ,constitution1 from its first 
to  its last works1 ,art is the spirit's
 voluntary use and combination  of      
things to serve its end4 ,the ,will     
distinguishes it as spiritual  action4  
,relatively to themselves1 the bee1 the 
bird1 the beaver1 have  no art2 for what
 they do1 they do instinctively2 but    
relatively to  the ,supreme ,being1 they
 have4 ,and the same is true of all     
unconscious  action3 relatively to the  
doer1 it is instinct2 relatively to the 
,first  ,cause1 it is ,art4 ,in this    
sense1 recognizing the ,spirit which    
informs  ,nature1 ,plato rightly said1  
8,those things which are said to be done
  by ,nature are indeed done by ,divine 
,art40 ,art1 universally1 is the  spirit
 creative4 ,it was defined by           
,aristotle1 8,the reason of the thing1  
without the matter40    ,if we follow   
the popular distinction of works        
according to their aim1  we should say1 
the ,spirit1 in its creation1 aims at   
use or at beauty1  and hence ,art       

divides itself into the ,useful and the 
,fine ,arts4    ,the useful arts        
comprehend not only those that lie next 
to instinct1  as agriculture1 building1 
weaving1 c41 but also navigation1       
practical  chemistry1 and the           
construction of all the grand and       
delicate tools and  instruments by which
 man serves himself3 as language1 the   
watch1 the  ship1 the decimal cipher2   
and also the sciences1 so far as they   
are  made serviceable to political      
economy4    ,when we reflect on the     
pleasure we receive from a ship1 a      
railroad1  a dry-dock2 or from a        
picture1 a dramatic representation1 a   
statue1  a poem1 we find that these have
 not a quite simple1 but a blended      
origin4 ,we find that the question1     
,what is ,art8 leads us directly to     
another1--,who is the artist8 and the   
solution of this is the key to the      
history of ,art4    ,i hasten to state  
the principle which prescribes1 through 
different  means1 its firm law to the   

useful and the beautiful arts4 ,the law 
is this4 ,the universal soul is the     
alone creator of the useful and  the    
beautiful2 therefore1 to make anything  
useful or beautiful1 the  individual    
must be submitted to the universal mind4
    ,in the first place1 let us consider
 this in reference to the useful  arts4 
,here the omnipotent agent is ,nature2  
all human acts are  satellites to her   
orb4 ,nature is the representative of   
the universal  mind1 and the law becomes
 this1--that ,art must be a complement  
to  nature1 strictly subsidiary4 ,it was
 said1 in allusion to the great         
structures of the ancient ,romans1--the 
aqueducts and bridges1--that  8their    
,art was a ,nature working to municipal 
ends40 ,that is a true  account of all  
just works of useful art4 ,smeaton built
 ,eddystone  ,light-house on the model  
of an oak-tree1 as being the form in    
nature  best designed to resist a       
constant assailing force4 ,dollond      
formed his  achromatic telescope on the 

model of the human eye4 ,duhamel built a
  bridge by letting in a piece of       
stronger timber for the middle of the   
under surface1 getting his hint from the
 structure of the shin-bone4    ,the    
first and last lesson of the useful arts
 is1 that ,nature tyrannizes  over our  
works4 ,they must be conformed to her   
law1 or they will be  ground to powder  
by her omnipresent activity4 ,nothing   
droll1 nothing  whimsical will endure4  
,nature is ever interfering with ,art4  
,you cannot  build your house or pagoda 
as you will1 but as you must4 ,there is 
a  quick bound set to your caprice4 ,the
 leaning tower can only lean so  far4   
,the verandah or pagoda roof can curve  
upward only to a certain  point4 ,the   
slope of your roof is determined by the 
weight of snow4 ,it  is only within     
narrow limits that the discretion of the
 architect may  range3 gravity1 wind1   
sun1 rain1 the size of men and animals1 
and such  like1 have more to say than   
he4 ,it is the law of fluids that       

prescribes  the shape of the            
boat1--keel1 rudder1 and bows1--and1 in 
the finer  fluid above1 the form and    
tackle of the sails4 ,man seems to have 
no  option about his tools1 but merely  
the necessity to learn from ,nature     
what will fit best1 as if he were       
fitting a screw or a door4 ,beneath  a  
necessity thus almighty1 what is        
artificial in man's life seems          
insignificant4 ,he seems to take his    
task so minutely from intimations  of   
,nature1 that his works become as it    
were hers1 and he is no longer  free4   
,but if we work within this limit1 she  
yields us all her strength4 ,all        
powerful action is performed by bringing
 the forces of nature to bear  upon our 
objects4 ,we do not grind corn or lift  
the loom by our own  strength1 but we   
build a mill in such position as to set 
the north wind  to play upon our        
instrument1 or the elastic force of     
steam1 or the ebb  and flow of the sea4 
,so in our handiwork1 we do few things  

by muscular  force1 but we place        
ourselves in such attitudes as to bring 
the force  of gravity1 that is1 the     
weight of the planet1 to bear upon the  
spade  or the axe we wield4 ,in short1  
in all our operations we seek not to use
  our own1 but to bring a quite infinite
 force to bear4    ,let us now consider 
this law as it affects the works that   
have beauty  for their end1 that is1 the
 productions of the ,fine ,arts4 ,here  
again  the prominent fact is            
subordination of man4 ,his art is the   
least part  of his work of art4 ,a great
 deduction is to be made before we can  
know  his proper contribution to it4    
,music1 ,eloquence1 ,poetry1 ,painting1 
,sculpture1 ,architecture4 ,this is  a  
rough enumeration of the ,fine ,arts4 ,i
 omit ,rhetoric1 which only  respects   
the form of eloquence and poetry4       
,architecture and eloquence  are mixed  
arts1 whose end is sometimes beauty and 
sometimes use4    ,it will be seen that 
in each of these arts there is much     

which is  not spiritual4 ,each has a    
material basis1 and in each the creating
  intellect is crippled in some degree  
by the stuff on which it works4  ,the   
basis of poetry is language1 which is   
material only on one side4  ,it is a    
demi-god4 ,but being applied primarily  
to the common necessities  of man1 it is
 not new-created by the poet for his own
 ends4    ,the basis of music is the    
qualities of the air and the vibrations 
of  sonorous bodies4 ,the pulsation of a
 stretched string or wire gives the  ear
 the pleasure of sweet sound1 before yet
 the musician has enhanced  this        
pleasure by concords and combinations4  
,eloquence1 as far as it is a fine art1 
is modified how much by the  material   
organization of the orator1 the tone of 
the voice1 the  physical strength1 the  
play of the eye and countenance4 ,all   
this is  so much deduction from the     
purely spiritual pleasure1--as so much  
deduction from the merit of ,art1--and  
is the attribute of ,nature4    ,in     

painting1 bright colors stimulate the   
eye1 before yet they are  harmonized    
into a landscape4 ,in sculpture and in  
architecture the  material1 as marble or
 granite1 and in architecture the mass1 
are  sources of great pleasure1 quite   
independent of the artificial           
arrangement4 ,the art resides in the    
model1 in the plan2 for it is on  that  
the genius of the artist is expended1   
not on the statue or the  temple4 ,just 
as much better as is the polished statue
 of dazzling  marble than the clay      
model1 or as much more impressive as is 
the  granite cathedral or pyramid than  
the ground-plan or profile of them  on  
paper1 so much more beauty owe they to  
,nature than to ,art4    ,there is a    
still larger deduction to be made from  
the genius of the  artist in favor of   
,nature than ,i have yet specified4     
,a jumble of musical sounds on a viol or
 a flute1 in which the rhythm of  the   
tune is played without one of the notes 
being right1 gives pleasure  to the     

unskilful ear4 ,a very coarse imitation 
of the human form on  canvas1 or in     
wax-work1--a coarse sketch in colors of 
a landscape1  in which imitation is all 
that is attempted1--these things give to
  unpractised eyes1 to the uncultured1  
who do not ask a fine spiritual         
delight1 almost as much pleasure as a   
statue of ,canova or a picture of       
,titian4    ,and in the statue of       
,canova1 or the picture of ,titian1     
these give the  great part of the       
pleasure2 they are the basis on which   
the fine spirit  rears a higher delight1
 but to which these are indispensable4  
,another deduction from the genius of   
the artist is what is conventional  in  
his art1 of which there is much in every
 work of art4 ,thus how  much is there  
that is not original in every particular
 building1 in  every statue1 in every   
tune1 painting1 poem1 or                
harangue6--whatever is  national or     
usual2 as the usage of building all     
,roman churches in the  form of a cross1

 the prescribed distribution of parts of
 a theatre1 the  custom of draping a    
statue in classical costume4 ,yet who   
will deny  that the merely conventional 
part of the performance contributes much
  to its effect8    ,one consideration  
more exhausts1 ,i believe1 all the      
deductions from  the genius of the      
artist in any given work4 ,this is the  
adventitious4  ,thus the pleasure that a
 noble temple gives us is only in part  
owing to  the temple4 ,it is exalted by 
the beauty of sunlight1 the play of the 
clouds1 the landscape around it1 its    
grouping with the houses1 trees1  and   
towers in its vicinity4 ,the pleasure of
 eloquence is in greatest  part owing   
often to the stimulus of the occasion   
which produces it1--to  the magic of    
sympathy1 which exalts the feeling of   
each by radiating on  him the feeling of
 all4    ,the effect of music belongs   
how much to the place1--as the church1  
or  the moonlight walk2 or to the       
company2 or1 if on the stage1 to what   

went before in the play1 or to the      
expectation of what shall come after4   
,in poetry1 8,it is tradition more than 
invention that helps the poet to  a good
 fable40 ,the adventitious beauty of    
poetry may be felt in the  greater      
delight which a verse gives in happy    
quotation than in the poem4    ,it is a 
curious proof of our conviction that the
 artist does not feel  himself to be the
 parent of his work1 and is as much     
surprised at the  effect as we1 that we 
are so unwilling to impute our best     
sense of  any work of art to the author4
 ,the highest praise we can attribute to
  any writer1 painter1 sculptor1        
builder1 is1 that he actually possessed 
the thought or feeling with which he has
 inspired us4 ,we hesitate at  doing    
,spenser so great an honor as to think  
that he intended by his  allegory the   
sense we affix to it4 ,we grudge to     
,homer the wide human  circumspection   
his commentators ascribe to him4 ,even  
,shakspeare1  of whom we can believe    

everything1 we think indebted to ,goethe
 and  to ,coleridge for the wisdom they 
detect in his ,hamlet and ,antony4      
,especially have we this infirmity of   
faith in contemporary genius4 ,we  fear 
that ,allston and ,greenough did not    
foresee and design all the  effect they 
produce on us4    ,our arts are happy   
hits4 ,we are like the musician on the  
lake1 whose  melody is sweeter than he  
knows1 or like a traveller1 surprised by
 a  mountain echo1 whose trivial word   
returns to him in romantic thunders4    
,in view of these facts1 ,i say that the
 power of ,nature predominates  over the
 human will in all works of even the    
fine arts1 in all that  respects their  
material and external circumstances4    
,nature paints the  best part of the    
picture2 carves the best part of the    
statue2 builds  the best part of the    
house2 and speaks the best part of the  
oration4  ,for all the advantages to    
which ,i have adverted are such as the  
artist  did not consciously produce4 ,he

 relied on their aid1 he put himself in 
the way to receive aid from some of     
them2 but he saw that his planting  and 
his watering waited for the sunlight of 
,nature1 or were vain4    ,let us       
proceed to the consideration of the law 
stated in the beginning  of this essay1 
as it affects the purely spiritual part 
of a work of art4    ,as1 in useful art1
 so far as it is useful1 the work must  
be strictly  subordinated to the laws of
 ,nature1 so as to become a sort of     
continuation1 and in nowise a           
contradiction of ,nature2 so1 in art    
that  aims at beauty1 must the parts be 
subordinated to ,ideal ,nature1 and     
everything individual abstracted1 so    
that it shall be the production of  the 
universal soul4    ,the artist who is to
 produce a work which is to be admired1 
not by his  friends or his townspeople  
or his contemporaries1 but by all men1  
and  which is to be more beautiful to   
the eye in proportion to its culture1   
must disindividualize himself1 and be a 

man of no party1 and no manner1  and no 
age1 but one through whom the soul of   
all men circulates1 as the  common air  
through his lungs4 ,he must work in the 
spirit in which we  conceive a prophet  
to speak1 or an angel of the ,lord to   
act2 that is1  he is not to speak his   
own words1 or do his own works1 or think
 his own  thoughts1 but he is to be an  
organ through which the universal mind  
acts4    ,in speaking of the useful     
arts1 ,i pointed to the fact that we do 
not  dig1 or grind1 or hew1 by our      
muscular strength1 but by bringing the  
weight of the planet to bear on the     
spade1 axe1 or bar4 ,precisely          
analogous to this1 in the fine arts1 is 
the manner of our intellectual  work4   
,we aim to hinder our individuality from
 acting4 ,so much as we  can shove aside
 our egotism1 our prejudice1 and will1  
and bring the  omniscience of reason    
upon the subject before us1 so perfect  
is the  work4 ,the wonders of           
,shakspeare are things which he saw     

whilst he stood  aside1 and then        
returned to record them4 ,the poet aims 
at getting  observations without aim2 to
 subject to thought things seen without 
7voluntary7 thought4    ,in eloquence1  
the great triumphs of the art are1 when 
the orator is  lifted above himself2    
when consciously he makes himself the   
mere tongue  of the occasion and the    
hour1 and says what cannot but be said4 
,hence  the term abandonment1 to        
describe the self-surrender of the      
orator4  ,not his will1 but the         
principle on which he is horsed1 the    
great  connection and crisis of events1 
thunder in the ear of the crowd4    ,in 
poetry1 where every word is free1 every 
word is necessary4 ,good  poetry could  
not have been otherwise written than it 
is4 ,the first time  you hear it1 it    
sounds rather as if copied out of some  
invisible tablet  in the ,eternal mind1 
than as if arbitrarily composed by the  
poet4 ,the  feeling of all great poets  
has accorded with this4 ,they found the 

verse1 not made it4 ,the muse brought it
 to them4    ,in sculpture1 did ever    
anybody call the ,apollo a fancy piece8 
,or say of  the ,laocon how it might be 
made different8 ,a masterpiece of art   
has in  the mind a fixed place in the   
chain of being1 as much as a plant or a 
crystal4    ,the whole language of men1 
especially of artists1 in reference to  
this  subject1 points at the belief that
 every work of art1 in proportion to    
its excellence1 partakes of the         
precision of fate3 no room was there    
for choice1 no play for fancy2 for in   
the moment1 or in the successive        
moments1 when that form was seen1 the   
iron lids of ,reason were  unclosed1    
which ordinarily are heavy with slumber4
 ,the individual mind  became for the   
moment the vent of the mind of humanity4
    ,there is but one ,reason4 ,the mind
 that made the world is not one mind1   
but the mind4 ,every man is an inlet to 
the same1 and to all of the  same4 ,and 
every work of art is a more or less pure

 manifestation of  the same4 ,therefore 
we arrive at this conclusion1 which ,i  
offer as a  confirmation of the whole   
view1 that the delight which a work of  
art  affords1 seems to arise from our   
recognizing in it the mind that formed  
,nature1 again in active operation4     
,it differs from the works of ,nature in
 this1 that they are organically        
reproductive4 ,this is not2 but         
spiritually it is prolific by its       
powerful action on the intellects of    
men4    ,hence it follows that a study  
of admirable works of art sharpens our  
perceptions of the beauty of ,nature2   
that a certain analogy reigns           
throughout the wonders of both2 that the
 contemplation of a work of  great art  
draws us into a state of mind which may 
be called religious4  ,it conspires with
 all exalted sentiments4    ,proceeding 
from absolute mind1 whose nature is     
goodness as much as  truth1 the great   
works are always attuned to moral       
nature4 ,if the earth  and sea conspire 

with virtue more than vice1--so do the  
masterpieces  of art4 ,the galleries of 
ancient sculpture in ,naples and ,rome  
strike  no deeper conviction into the   
mind than the contrast of the purity1   
the severity1 expressed in these fine   
old heads1 with the frivolity  and      
grossness of the mob that exhibits and  
the mob that gazes at them4  ,these are 
the countenances of the first-born1--the
 face of man in the  morning of the     
world4 ,no mark is on these lofty       
features1 of sloth1 or  luxury1 or      
meanness1 and they surprise you with a  
moral admonition1  as they speak of     
nothing around you1 but remind you of   
the fragrant  thoughts and the purest   
resolutions of your youth4    ,herein is
 the explanation of the analogies which 
exist in all the arts4  ,they are the   
reappearance of one mind1 working in    
many materials to  many temporary ends4 
,raphael paints wisdom2 ,handel sings   
it1 ,phidias  carves it1 ,shakspeare    
writes it1 ,wren builds it1 ,columbus   

sails it1  ,luther preaches it1         
,washington arms it1 ,watt mechanizes   
it4 ,painting  was called 8silent       
poetry02 and poetry1 8speaking          
painting40 ,the laws  of each art are   
convertible into the laws of every      
other4    ,herein we have an explanation
 of the necessity that reigns in all the
  kingdom of ,art4    ,arising out of   
eternal ,reason1 one and perfect1       
whatever is beautiful  rests on the     
foundation of the necessary4 ,nothing is
 arbitrary1 nothing  is insulated in    
beauty4 ,it depends forever on the      
necessary and the  useful4 ,the plumage 
of the bird1 the mimic plumage of the   
insect1 has a  reason for its rich      
colors in the constitution of the       
animal4 ,fitness  is so inseparable an  
accompaniment of beauty1 that it has    
been taken  for it4 ,the most perfect   
form to answer an end is so far         
beautiful4  ,we feel1 in seeing a noble 
building1 which rhymes well1 as we do in
  hearing a perfect song1 that it is    

spiritually organic2 that is1 had a     
necessity1 in nature1 for being1 was one
 of the possible forms in the  ,divine  
mind1 and is now only discovered and    
executed by the artist1 not  arbitrarily
 composed by him4    ,and so every      
genuine work of art has as much reason  
for being as the  earth and the sun4    
,the gayest charm of beauty has a root  
in the  constitution of things4 ,the    
,iliad of ,homer1 the songs of ,david1  
the  odes of ,pindar1 the tragedies of  
schylus1 the ,doric temples1 the        
,gothic cathedrals1 the plays of        
,shakspeare1 all and each were made not 
for sport1 but in grave earnest1 in     
tears and smiles of suffering and       
loving men4    ,viewed from this point1 
the history of ,art becomes             
intelligible1 and1  moreover1 one of the
 most agreeable studies4 ,we see how    
each work of  art sprang irresistibly   
from necessity1 and1 moreover1 took its 
form  from the broad hint of ,nature4   
,beautiful in this wise is the obvious  

origin of all the known orders of       
architecture2 namely1 that they  were   
the idealizing of the primitive abodes  
of each people4 ,there  was no          
wilfulness in the savages in this       
perpetuating of their first  rude       
abodes4 ,the first form in which they   
built a house would be the  first form  
of their public and religious edifice   
also4 ,this form  becomes immediately   
sacred in the eyes of their children1   
and1 as more  traditions cluster round  
it1 is imitated with more splendor in   
each  succeeding generation4    ,in like
 manner1 it has been remarked by ,goethe
 that the granite  breaks into          
parallelepipeds1 which broken in two1   
one part would  be an obelisk2 that in  
,upper ,egypt the inhabitants would     
naturally  mark a memorable spot by     
setting up so conspicuous a stone4      
,again1  he suggested1 we may see in any
 stone wall1 on a fragment of rock1  the
 projecting veins of harder stone1 which
 have resisted the action  of frost and 

water which has decomposed the rest4    
,this appearance  certainly gave the    
hint of the hieroglyphics inscribed on  
their  obelisk4 ,the amphitheatre of the
 old ,romans1--any one may see its      
origin who looks at the crowd running   
together to see any fight1  sickness1 or
 odd appearance in the street4 ,the     
first comers gather  round in a circle2 
those behind stand on tiptoe2 and       
farther back they  climb on fences or   
window-sills1 and so make a cup of which
 the object  of attention occupies the  
hollow area4 ,the architect put benches 
in  this1 and enclosed the cup with a   
wall1--and1 behold a coliseum6    ,it   
would be easy to show of many fine      
things in the world1--in the  customs of
 nations1 the etiquette of courts1 the  
constitution of  governments1--the      
origin in quite simple local            
necessities4 ,heraldry1  for example1   
and the ceremonies of a coronation1 are 
a dignified  repetition of the          
occurrences that might befall a dragoon 

and his  footboy4 ,the ,college of      
,cardinals were originally the parish   
priests  of ,rome4 ,the leaning towers  
originated from the civil discords which
  induced every lord to build a tower4  
,then it became a point of family       
pride1--and for more pride the novelty  
of a leaning tower was built4    ,this  
strict dependence of ,art upon material 
and ideal ,nature1 this  adamantine     
necessity which underlies it1 has made  
all its past1 and  may foreshow its     
future history4 ,it never was in the    
power of any man1  or any community1 to 
call the arts into being4 ,they come to 
serve his  actual wants1 never to please
 his fancy4 ,these arts have their      
origin  always in some enthusiasm1 as   
love1 patriotism1 or religion4 ,who     
carved  marble8 ,the believing man1 who 
wished to symbolize their gods to the   
waiting ,greeks4    ,the ,gothic        
cathedrals were built when the builder  
and the priest and  the people were     
overpowered by their faith4 ,love and   

fear laid every  stone4 ,the ,madonnas  
of ,raphael and ,titian were made to be 
worshipped4  ,tragedy was instituted for
 the like purpose1 and the miracles of  
music3 all sprang out of some genuine   
enthusiasm1 and never out of            
dilettanteism and holidays4 ,now they   
languish1 because their purpose  is     
merely exhibition4 ,who cares1 who knows
 what works of art our  government have 
ordered to be made for the ,capitol8    
,they are a mere  flourish to please the
 eye of persons who have associations   
with  books and galleries4 ,but in      
,greece1 the ,demos of ,athens divided  
into  political factions upon the merits
 of ,phidias4    ,in this country1 at   
this time1 other interests than religion
 and  patriotism are predominant1 and   
the arts1 the daughters of enthusiasm1  
do not flourish4 ,the genuine offspring 
of our ruling passions we  behold4      
,popular institutions1 the school1 the  
reading-room1 the  telegraph1 the       
post-office1 the exchange1 the          

insurance-company1 and  the immense     
harvest of economical inventions1 are   
the fruit of the  equality and the      
boundless liberty of lucrative callings4
 ,these are  superficial wants2 and     
their fruits are these superficial      
institutions4  ,but as far as they      
accelerate the end of political freedom 
and  national education1 they are       
preparing the soil of man for fairer    
flowers and fruits in another age4 ,for 
beauty1 truth1 and goodness  are not    
obsolete2 they spring eternal in the    
breast of man2 they are  as indigenous  
in ,massachusetts as in ,tuscany or the 
,isles of ,greece4  ,and that ,eternal  
,spirit1 whose triple face they are1    
moulds from them  forever1 for his      
mortal child1 images to remind him of   
the ,infinite and  ,fair4               
,,eloquence4          ,,eloquence4      
,it is the doctrine of the popular      
music-masters1 that whoever can  speak  
can sing4 ,so1 probably1 every man is   
eloquent once in his life4  ,our        

temperaments differ in capacity of heat1
 or1 we boil at different  degrees4 ,one
 man is brought to the boiling-point by 
the excitement of  conversation in the  
parlor4 ,the waters1 of course1 are not 
very deep4  ,he has a two-inch          
enthusiasm1 a patty-pan ebullition4     
,another requires  the additional       
caloric of a multitude1 and a public    
debate2 a third  needs an antagonist1 or
 a hot indignation2 a fourth needs a    
revolution2  and a fifth1 nothing less  
than the grandeur of absolute ideas1 the
  splendors and shades of ,heaven and   
,hell4    ,but because every man is an  
orator1 how long soever he may have been
  a mute1 an assembly of men is so much 
more susceptible4 ,the eloquence  of one
 stimulates all the rest1 some up to the
 speaking-point1 and  all others to a   
degree that makes them good receivers   
and conductors1  and they avenge        
themselves for their enforced silence by
 increased  loquacity on their return to
 the fireside4    ,the plight of these  

phlegmatic brains is better than that of
 those  who prematurely boil1 and who   
impatiently break silence before their  
time4 ,our county conventions often     
exhibit a small-pot-soon-hot style  of  
eloquence4 ,we are too much reminded of 
a medical experiment where a  series of 
patients are taking nitrous-oxide gas4  
,each patient1 in turn1  exhibits       
similar symptoms1--redness in the face1 
volubility1 violent  gesticulation1     
delirious attitudes1 occasional         
stamping1 an alarming  loss of          
perception of the passage of time1 a    
selfish enjoyment of his  sensations1   
and loss of perception of the sufferings
 of the audience4    ,plato says1 that  
the punishment which the wise suffer1   
who refuse to  take part in the         
government1 is1 to live under the       
government of worse  men2 and the like  
regret is suggested to all the auditors1
 as the  penalty of abstaining to       
speak1--that they shall hear worse      
orators  than themselves4    ,but this  

lust to speak marks the universal       
feeling of the energy of  the engine1   
and the curiosity men feel to touch the 
springs4 ,of all  the musical           
instruments on which men play1 a popular
 assembly is  that which has the largest
 compass and variety1 and out of which1 
by genius and study1 the most wonderful 
effects can be drawn4 ,an  audience is  
not a simple addition of the individuals
 that compose it4  ,their sympathy gives
 them a certain social organism1 which  
fills each  member1 in his own degree1  
and most of all the orator1 as a jar in 
a  battery is charged with the whole    
electricity of the battery4 ,no one  can
 survey the face of an excited assembly1
 without being apprised  of new         
opportunity for painting in fire human  
thought1 and being  agitated to agitate4
 ,how many orators sit mute there below6
 ,they come  to get justice done to that
 ear and intuition which no ,chatham and
 no  ,demosthenes has begun to satisfy4 
,the ,welsh ,triads say1 8,many are the 

friends of the golden tongue40  ,who can
 wonder at the attractiveness of        
,parliament1 or of ,congress1  or the   
bar1 for our ambitious young men1 when  
the highest bribes of  society are at   
the feet of the successful orator8 ,he  
has his audience  at his devotion4 ,all 
other fames must hush before his4 ,he is
 the  true potentate2 for they are not  
kings who sit on thrones1 but they  who 
know how to govern4 ,the definitions of 
eloquence describe its  attraction for  
young men4 ,antiphon the ,rhamnusian1   
one of ,plutarch's  ten orators1        
advertised in ,athens1 8that he would   
cure distempers of  the mind with       
words40 ,no man has a prosperity so high
 or firm but two  or three words can    
dishearten it4 ,there is no calamity    
which right  words will not begin to    
redress4 ,isocrates described his art as
 8the  power of magnifying what was     
small and diminishing what was          
great10--an  acute but partial          
definition4 ,among the ,spartans1 the   

art assumed a  ,spartan shape1 namely1  
of the sharpest weapon4 ,socrates says3 
8,if  any one wishes to converse with   
the meanest of the ,lacedmonians1 he    
will at first find him despicable in    
conversation2 but1 when a proper        
opportunity offers1 this same person1   
like a skilful jaculator1 will  hurl a  
sentence worthy of attention1 short and 
contorted1 so that he  who converses    
with him will appear to be in no respect
 superior to a  boy40 ,plato's          
definition of rhetoric is1 8the art of  
ruling the minds  of men40 ,the ,koran  
says1 8,a mountain may change its place1
 but a man  will not change his         
disposition0 yet the end of eloquence   
is1--is it  not8--to alter in a pair of 
hours1 perhaps in a half-hour's         
discourse1  the convictions and habits  
of years4 ,young men1 too1 are eager to 
enjoy  this sense of added power and    
enlarged sympathetic existence4 ,the    
orator sees himself the organ of a      
multitude1 and concentrating their      

valors and powers3      8,but now the   
blood of twenty thousand men    ,blushed
 in my face40    ,that which he wishes1 
that which eloquence ought to reach1 is1
 not a  particular skill in telling a   
story1 or neatly summing up evidence1   
or arguing logically1 or dexterously    
addressing the prejudice of the         
company1--no1 but a taking sovereign    
possession of the audience4 ,him  we    
call an artist1 who shall play on an    
assembly of men as a master on  the keys
 of the piano1--who1 seeing the people  
furious1 shall soften  and compose them1
 shall draw them1 when he will1 to      
laughter and to  tears4 ,bring him to   
his audience1 and1 be they who they     
may1--coarse or  refined1 pleased or    
displeased1 sulky or savage1 with their 
opinions  in the keeping of a confessor1
 or with their opinions in their        
bank-safes1--he will have them pleased  
and humored as he chooses2 and  they    
shall carry and execute that which he   
bids them4    ,this is that despotism   

which poets have celebrated in the      
8,pied ,piper  of ,hamelin10 whose music
 drew like the power of                 
gravitation1--drew  soldiers and        
priests1 traders and feasters1 women and
 boys1 rats and  mice2 or that of the   
minstrel of ,meudon1 who made the       
pall-bearers  dance around the bier4    
,this is a power of many degrees1 and   
requiring  in the orator a great range  
of faculty and experience1 requiring a  
large composite man1 such as ,nature    
rarely organizes2 so that1 in our       
experience1 we are forced to gather up  
the figure in fragments1 here  one      
talent1 and there another4    ,the      
audience is a constant metre of the     
orator4 ,there are many  audiences in   
every public assembly1 each one of which
 rules in turn4  ,if anything comic and 
coarse is spoken1 you shall see the     
emergence  of the boys and rowdies1 so  
loud and vivacious that you might think 
the house was filled with them4 ,if new 
topics are started1 graver and  higher1 

these roisters recede2 a more chaste and
 wise attention takes  place4 ,you would
 think the boys slept1 and that the men 
have any degree  of profoundness4 ,if   
the speaker utter a noble sentiment1 the
 attention  deepens1 a new and highest  
audience now listens1 and the audiences 
of the fun and of facts and of the      
understanding are all silenced  and     
awed4 ,there is also something excellent
 in every audience1--the  capacity of   
virtue4 ,they are ready to be beatified4
 ,they know so much  more than the      
orator1--and are so just6 ,there is a   
tablet there for  every line he can     
inscribe1 though he should mount to the 
highest  levels4 ,humble persons are    
conscious of new illumination2 narrow   
brows  expand with enlarged             
affections2--delicate spirits1 long     
unknown to  themselves1 masked and      
muffled in coarsest fortunes1 who now   
hear their  own native language for the 
first time1 and leap to hear it4 ,but   
all  these several audiences1 each above

 each1 which successively appear to     
greet the variety of style and topic1   
are really composed out of the  same    
persons2 nay1 sometimes the same        
individual will take active part  in    
them all1 in turn4    ,this range of    
many powers in the consummate speaker1  
and of many  audiences in one assembly1 
leads us to consider the successive     
stages  of oratory4    ,perhaps it is   
the lowest of the qualities of an       
orator1 but it is1 on  so many          
occasions1 of chief importance1--a      
certain robust and radiant  physical    
health2 or1--shall ,i say8--great       
volumes of animal heat4 ,when  each     
auditor feels himself to make too large 
a part of the assembly1  and shudders   
with cold at the thinness of the morning
 audience1 and  with fear lest all will 
heavily fail through one bad speech1    
mere  energy and mellowness are then    
inestimable4 ,wisdom and learning would 
be harsh and unwelcome1 compared with a 
substantial cordial man1 made  of milk1 

as we say1 who is a house-warmer1 with  
his obvious honesty  and good meaning1  
and a hue-and-cry style of harangue1    
which inundates  the assembly with a    
flood of animal spirits1 and makes all  
safe and  secure1 so that any and every 
sort of good speaking becomes at once   
practicable4 ,i do not rate this animal 
eloquence very highly2 and yet1  as we  
must be fed and warmed before we can do 
any work well1--even the  best1--so is  
this semi-animal exuberance1 like a good
 stove1 of the  first necessity in a    
cold house4    ,climate has much to do  
with it1--climate and race4 ,set a      
,new-,englander  to describe any        
accident which happened in his presence4
 ,what  hesitation and reserve in his   
narrative6 ,he tells with difficulty    
some  particulars1 and gets as fast as  
he can to the result1 and1 though he    
cannot describe1 hopes to suggest the   
whole scene4 ,now listen to a  poor     
,irishwoman recounting some experience  
of hers4 ,her speech flows  like a      

river1--so unconsidered1 so humorous1 so
 pathetic1 such justice  done to all the
 parts6 ,it is a true                   
transubstantiation1--the fact  converted
 into speech1 all warm and colored and  
alive1 as it fell out4  ,our ,southern  
people are almost all speakers1 and have
 every advantage  over the ,new ,england
 people1 whose climate is so cold that1 
'tis said1  we do not like to open our  
mouths very wide4 ,but neither can the  
,southerner in the ,united ,states1 nor 
the ,irish1 compare with the lively     
inhabitant of the south of ,europe4 ,the
 traveller in ,sicily needs no  gayer   
melodramatic exhibition than the table  
d'hte of his inn will  afford him in the
 conversation of the joyous guests4     
,they mimic the  voice and manner of the
 person they describe2 they crow1       
squeal1 hiss1  cackle1 bark1 and scream 
like mad1 and1 were it only by the      
physical  strength exerted in telling   
the story1 keep the table in unbounded  
excitement4 ,but in every constitution  

some large degree of animal vigor  is   
necessary as material foundation for the
 higher qualities of the art4    ,but   
eloquence must be attractive1 or it is  
none4 ,the virtue of books  is1 to be   
readable1 and of orators1 to be         
interesting2 and this is  a gift of     
,nature2 as ,demosthenes1 the most      
laborious student in  that kind1        
signified his sense of this necessity   
when he wrote1  8,good ,fortune10 as his
 motto on his shield4 ,as we know1 the  
power of  discourse of certain          
individuals amounts to fascination1     
though it may  have no lasting effect4  
,some portion of this sugar must        
intermingle4  ,the right eloquence needs
 no bell to call the people together1   
and no  constable to keep them4 ,it     
draws the children from their play1 the 
old from their arm-chairs1 the invalid  
from his warm chamber3 it holds  the    
hearer fast2 steals away his feet1 that 
he shall not depart1--his  memory1 that 
he shall not remember the most pressing 

affairs1--his  belief1 that he shall not
 admit any opposing considerations4 ,the
  pictures we have of it in             
semi-barbarous ages1 when it has some   
advantages in the simpler habit of the  
people1 show what it aims at4 ,it  is   
said that the ,khans1 or story-tellers1 
in ,ispahan and other cities  of the    
,east1 attain a controlling power over  
their audience1 keeping  them for many  
hours attentive to the most fanciful and
 extravagant  adventures4 ,the whole    
world knows pretty well the style of    
these  improvisators1 and how           
fascinating they are1 in our            
translations of the  8,arabian ,nights40
 ,scheherezade tells these stories to   
save her life1  and the delight of young
 ,europe and young ,america in them     
proves that  she fairly earned it4 ,and 
who does not remember in childhood some 
white  or black or yellow ,scheherezade1
 who1 by that talent of telling endless 
feats of fairies and magicians1 and     
kings and queens1 was more dear and     

wonderful to a circle of children than  
any orator in ,england or ,america  is  
now8 ,the more indolent and imaginative 
complexion of the ,eastern  nations     
makes them much more impressible by     
these appeals to the fancy4    ,these   
legends are only exaggerations of real  
occurrences1 and every  literature      
contains these high compliments to the  
art of the orator  and the bard1 from   
the ,hebrew and the ,greek down to the  
,scottish  ,glenkindie1 who             
8harpit a fish out o' saut-water1       
,or water out of a stone1    ,or milk   
out of a maiden's breast      ,who bairn
 had never none40    ,homer specially   
delighted in drawing the same figure4   
,for what is the  8,odyssey0 but a      
history of the orator1 in the largest   
style1 carried  through a series of     
adventures furnishing brilliant         
opportunities to  his talent8 ,see with 
what care and pleasure the poet brings  
him on the  stage4 ,helen is pointing   
out to ,priam1 from a tower1 the        

different  ,grecian chiefs4 8,the old   
man asked3 #8,tell me1 dear child1 who  
is  that man1 shorter by a head than    
,agamemnon1 yet he looks broader in  his
 shoulders and breast4 ,his arms lie on 
the ground1 but he1 like a  leader1     
walks about the bands of the men4 ,he   
seems to me like a stately  ram1 who    
goes as a master of the flock4' ,him    
answered ,helen1 daughter  of ,jove3    
#8,this is the wise ,ulysses1 son of    
,laertes1 who was reared  in the state  
of craggy ,ithaca1 knowing all wiles and
 wise counsels4'  ,to her the prudent   
,antenor replied again3 #8,o woman1 you 
have spoken  truly4 ,for once the wise  
,ulysses came hither on an embassy1 with
  ,menelaus1 beloved by ,mars4 ,i       
received them1 and entertained them at  
my  house4 ,i became acquainted with the
 genius and the prudent judgments  of   
both4 ,when they mixed with the         
assembled ,trojans1 and stood1 the      
broad shoulders of ,menelaus rose above 
the other2 but1 both sitting1  ,ulysses 

was more majestic4 ,when they conversed1
 and interweaved stories  and opinions  
with all1 ,menelaus spoke               
succinctly1--few but very sweet  words1 
since he was not talkative1 nor         
superfluous in speech1 and was  the     
younger4 ,but when the wise ,ulysses    
arose1 and stood1 and looked  down1     
fixing his eyes on the ground1 and      
neither moved his sceptre  backward nor 
forward1 but held it still1 like an     
awkward person1 you  would say it was   
some angry or foolish man2 but when he  
sent his  great voice forth out of his  
breast1 and his words fell like the     
winter snows1 not then would any mortal 
contend with ,ulysses2 and we1          
beholding1 wondered not afterwards so   
much at his aspect4'0,b ,thus he  does  
not fail to arm ,ulysses at first with  
this power of overcoming  all opposition
 by the blandishments of speech4        
,plutarch tells us that  ,thucydides1   
when ,archidamus1 king of ,sparta1 asked
 him which was the  best                

wrestler1--,pericles or he1--replied1   
8,when ,i throw him1 he says he  was    
never down1 and he persuades the very   
spectators to believe him40  ,philip of 
,macedon said of ,demosthenes1 on       
hearing the report of one of  his       
orations1 8,had ,i been there1 he would 
have persuaded me to take up  arms      
against myself02 and ,warren ,hastings  
said of ,burke's speech on  his         
impeachment1 8,as ,i listened to the    
orator1 ,i felt for more than  half an  
hour as if ,i were the most culpable    
being on earth40    ,in these examples1 
higher qualities have already entered2  
but the power  of detaining the ear by  
pleasing speech1 and addressing the     
fancy and  imagination1 often exists    
without higher merits4 ,thus separated1 
as  this fascination of discourse aims  
only at amusement1 though it be         
decisive in its momentary effect1 it is 
yet a juggle1 and of no lasting  power4 
,it is heard like a band of music       
passing through the streets1  which     

converts all the passengers into poets1 
but is forgotten as soon  as it has     
turned the next corner2 and unless this 
oiled tongue could1  in ,oriental       
phrase1 lick the sun and moon away1 it  
must take its place  with opium and     
brandy4 ,i know no remedy against it but
 cotton-wool1 or  the wax which ,ulysses
 stuffed into the ears of his sailors to
 pass the  ,sirens safely4    ,there are
 all degrees of power1 and the least are
 interesting1 but  they must not be     
confounded4 ,there is the glib tongue   
and cool  self-possession of the        
salesman in a large shop1 which1 as is  
well  known1 overpower the prudence and 
resolution of housekeepers of both      
sexes4 ,there is a petty lawyer's       
fluency1 which is sufficiently          
impressive to him who is devoid of that 
talent1 though it be1 in so  many cases1
 nothing more than a facility of        
expressing with accuracy  and speed what
 everybody thinks and says more slowly1 
without new  information1 or precision  

of thought1--but the same thing1 neither
 less  nor more4 ,it requires no special
 insight to edit one of our country     
newspapers4 ,yet whoever can say off    
currently1 sentence by sentence1  matter
 neither better nor worse than what is  
there printed1 will be  very impressive 
to our easily pleased population4 ,these
 talkers are  of that class who prosper1
 like the celebrated schoolmaster1 by   
being  only one lesson ahead of the     
pupil4 ,add a little sarcasm1 and prompt
  allusion to passing occurrences1 and  
you have the mischievous member  of     
,congress4 ,a spice of malice1 a ruffian
 touch in his rhetoric1  will do him no 
harm with his audience4 ,these          
accomplishments are  of the same kind1  
and only a degree higher than the       
coaxing of the  auctioneer1 or the      
vituperative style well described in the
 street-word  8jawing40 ,these kinds of 
public and private speaking have their  
use and  convenience to the             
practitioners2 but we may say of such   

collectively1  that the habit of oratory
 is apt to disqualify them for          
eloquence4    ,one of our statesmen     
said1 8,the curse of this country is    
eloquent men40  ,and one cannot wonder  
at the uneasiness sometimes manifested  
by trained  statesmen1 with large       
experience of public affairs1 when they 
observe  the disproportionate advantage 
suddenly given to oratory over the most 
solid and accumulated public service4   
,in a ,senate or other business         
committee1 the solid result depends on a
 few men with working-talent4  ,they    
know how to deal with the facts before  
them1 to put things into a  practical   
shape1 and they value men only as they  
can forward the work4  ,but a new man   
comes there1 who has no capacity for    
helping them at all1  is insignificant1 
and nobody in the committee1 but has a  
talent for  speaking4 ,in the debate    
with open doors1 this precious person   
makes a  speech1 which is printed1 and  
read all over the ,union1 and he at once

  becomes famous1 and takes the lead in 
the public mind over all these          
executive men1 who1 of course1 are full 
of indignation to find one who  has no  
tact or skill1 and knows he has none1   
put over them by means of  this         
talking-power which they despise4       
,leaving behind us these pretensions1   
better or worse1 to come a little       
nearer to the verity1--eloquence is     
attractive as an example of the  magic  
of personal ascendency1--a total and    
resultant power1 rare1  because it      
requires a rich coincidence of powers1  
intellect1 will1  sympathy1 organs1 and1
 over all1 good fortune in the cause4   
,we have  a half-belief that the person 
is possible who can counterpoise all    
other persons4 ,we believe that there   
may be a man who is a match for         
events1--one who never found his        
match1--against whom other men being    
dashed are broken1--one of inexhaustible
 personal resources1 who can  give you  
any odds and beat you4 ,what we really  

wish for is a mind  equal to any        
exigency4 ,you are safe in your rural   
district1 or in the  city1 in broad     
daylight1 amidst the police1 and under  
the eyes of a  hundred thousand people4 
,but how is it on the ,atlantic1 in a   
storm1--do  you understand how to infuse
 your reason into men disabled by       
terror1  and to bring yourself off safe 
then8--how among thieves1 or among an   
infuriated populace1 or among cannibals8
 ,face to face with a highwayman  who   
has every temptation and opportunity for
 violence and plunder1 can  you bring   
yourself off safe by your wit1 exercised
 through speech8--a  problem easy enough
 to ,csar or ,napoleon4 ,whenever a man 
of that  stamp arrives1 the highwayman  
has found a master4 ,what a difference  
between men in power of face6 ,a man    
succeeds because he has more power  of  
eye than another1 and so coaxes or      
confounds him4 ,the newspapers1  every  
week1 report the adventures of some     
impudent swindler1 who1 by  steadiness  

of carriage1 duped those who should have
 known better4 ,yet  any swindlers we   
have known are novices and bunglers1 as 
is attested  by their ill name4 ,a      
greater power of face would accomplish  
anything1  and1 with the rest of their  
takings1 take away the bad name4 ,a     
greater  power of carrying the thing    
loftily1 and with perfect assurance1    
would  confound merchant1 banker1 judge1
 men of influence and power1--poet  and 
president1--and might head any party1   
unseat any sovereign1 and  abrogate any 
constitution in ,europe and ,america4   
,it was said that a  man has at one step
 attained vast power1 who has renounced 
his moral  sentiment1 and settled it    
with himself that he will no longer     
stick  at anything4 ,it was said of ,sir
 ,william ,pepperel1 one of the worthies
  of ,new ,england1 that1 8put him where
 you might1 he commanded1 and saw  what 
he willed come to pass40 ,julius ,csar  
said to ,metellus1 when that  tribune   
interfered to hinder him from entering  

the ,roman treasury1  8,young man1 it is
 easier for me to put you to death than 
to say that ,i  will02 and the youth    
yielded4 ,in earlier days1 he was taken 
by pirates4  ,what then8 ,he threw      
himself into their ship1 established the
 most  extraordinary intimacies1 told   
them stories1 declaimed to them2 if they
  did not applaud his speeches1 he      
threatened them with hanging1--which  he
 performed afterwards1--and1 in a short 
time1 was master of all on  board4 ,a   
man this is who cannot be disconcerted1 
and so can never play  his last card1   
but has a reserve of power when he has  
hit his mark4  ,with a serene face1 he  
subverts a kingdom4 ,what is told of him
 is  miraculous2 it affects men so4 ,the
 confidence of men in him is lavish1    
and he changes the face of the world1   
and histories1 poems1 and new           
philosophies arise to account for him4  
,a supreme commander over all  his      
passions and affections2 but the secret 
of his ruling is higher  than that4 ,it 

is the power of ,nature running without 
impediment from  the brain and will into
 the hands4 ,men and women are his game4
 ,where  they are1 he cannot be without 
resource4 8,whoso can speak well10 said 
,luther1 8is a man40 ,it was men of this
 stamp that the ,grecian ,states  used  
to ask of ,sparta for generals4 ,they   
did not send to ,lacedmon  for troops1  
but they said1 8,send us a commander02  
and ,pausanias1 or  ,gylippus1 or       
,brasidas1 or ,agis1 was despatched by  
the ,ephors4    ,it is easy to          
illustrate this overpowering personality
 by these  examples of soldiers and     
kings2 but there are men of the most    
peaceful  way of life1 and peaceful     
principle1 who are felt1 wherever they  
go1 as  sensibly as a ,july sun or a    
,december frost1--men who1 if they      
speak1  are heard1 though they speak in 
a whisper1--who1 when they act1 act     
effectually1 and what they do is        
imitated2 and these examples may be     
found on very humble platforms1 as well 

as on high ones4    ,in old countries1 a
 high money-value is set on the services
 of men who  have achieved a personal   
distinction4 ,he who has points to carry
 must  hire1 not a skilful attorney1 but
 a commanding person4 ,a barrister  in  
,england is reputed to have made thirty 
or forty thousand pounds  per annum in  
representing the claims of railroad     
companies before  committees of the     
,house of ,commons4 ,his clients pay not
 so much for  legal as for manly        
accomplishments1--for courage1 conduct1 
and a  commanding social position1 which
 enable him to make their claims  heard 
and respected4    ,i know very well1    
that1 among our cool and calculating    
people1 where  every man mounts guard   
over himself1 where heats and panics and
  abandonments are quite out of the     
system1 there is a good deal of         
scepticism as to extraordinary          
influence4 ,to talk of an overpowering  
mind rouses the same jealousy and       
defiance which one may observe  round a 

table where anybody is recounting the   
marvellous anecdotes  of mesmerism4     
,each auditor puts a final stroke to the
 discourse by  exclaiming1 8,can he     
mesmerize me80 ,so each man inquires if 
any orator  can change his convictions4 
,but does any one suppose himself to be 
quite impregnable8 ,does he think  that 
not possibly a man may come to him who  
shall persuade him out of  his most     
settled determination8--for example1    
good sedate citizen as  he is1 to make a
 fanatic of him1--or1 if he is          
penurious1 to squander  money for some  
purpose he now least thinks of1--or1 if 
he is a prudent1  industrious person1 to
 forsake his work1 and give days and    
weeks to  a new interest8 ,no1 he defies
 any one1 every one4 ,ah6 he is thinking
  of resistance1 and of a different turn
 from his own4 ,but what if one  should 
come of the same turn of mind as his    
own1 and who sees much  farther on his  
own way than he8 ,a man who has tastes  
like mine1 but in  greater power1 will  

rule me any day1 and make me love my    
ruler4    ,thus it is not powers of     
speech that we primarily consider under 
this  word eloquence1 but the power     
that1 being present1 gives them their   
perfection1 and1 being absent1 leaves   
them a merely superficial value4        
,eloquence is the appropriate organ of  
the highest personal energy4  ,personal 
ascendency may exist with or without    
adequate talent for its  expression4 ,it
 is as surely felt as a mountain or a   
planet2 but when  it is weaponed with a 
power of speech1 it seems first to      
become truly  human1 works actively in  
all directions1 and supplies the        
imagination  with fine materials4       
,this circumstance enters into every    
consideration of the power of  orators1 
and is the key to all their effects4 ,in
 the assembly1 you  shall find the      
orator and the audience in perpetual    
balance2 and the  predominance of either
 is indicated by the choice of topic4   
,if the  talents for speaking exist1 but

 not the strong personality1 then there 
are good speakers who perfectly receive 
and express the will of the  audience1  
and the commonest populace is flattered 
by hearing its low  mind returned to it 
with every ornament which happy talent  
can add4 ,but  if there be personality  
in the orator1 the face of things       
changes4 ,the  audience is thrown into  
the attitude of pupil1 follows like a   
child its  preceptor1 and hears what he 
has to say4 ,it is as if1 amidst the    
king's  council at ,madrid1 ,ximenes    
urged that an advantage might be gained 
of  ,france1 and ,mendoza that ,flanders
 might be kept down1 and ,columbus1     
being introduced1 was interrogated      
whether his geographical knowledge      
could aid the cabinet1 and he can say   
nothing to one party or to the  other1  
but he can show how all ,europe can be  
diminished and reduced  under the king1 
by annexing to ,spain a continent as    
large as six or  seven ,europes4        
,this balance between the orator and the

 audience is expressed in what  is      
called the pertinence of the speaker4   
,there is always a rivalry  between the 
orator and the occasion1 between the    
demands of the hour  and the            
prepossession of the individual4 ,the   
emergency which has  convened the       
meeting is usually of more importance   
than anything the  debaters have in     
their minds1 and therefore becomes      
imperative to them4  ,but if one of them
 have anything of commanding necessity  
in his heart1  how speedily he will find
 vent for it1 and with the applause of  
the  assembly6 ,this balance is observed
 in the privatest intercourse4 ,poor    
,tom never knew the time when the       
present occurrence was so trivial that  
he could tell what was passing in his   
mind without being checked for          
unseasonable speech2 but let ,bacon     
speak1 and wise men would rather        
listen1 though the revolution of        
kingdoms was on foot4 ,i have heard  it 
reported of an eloquent preacher1 whose 

voice is not yet forgotten  in this     
city1 that1 on occasions of death or    
tragic disaster1 which  overspread the  
congregation with gloom1 he ascended the
 pulpit with  more than his usual       
alacrity1 and1 turning to his favorite  
lessons of  devout and jubilant         
thankfulness1--8,let us praise the      
,lord10--carried  audience1 mourners1   
and mourning along with him1 and swept  
away all the  impertinence of private   
sorrow with his hosannas and songs of   
praise4  ,pepys says of ,lord ,clarendon
 7with whom 8he is mad in love071 on his
  return from a conference1 8,i did     
never observe how much easier a man do  
speak when he knows all the company to  
be below him1 than in him2 for1  though 
he spoke indeed excellent well1 yet his 
manner and freedom of  doing it1 as if  
he played with it1 and was informing    
only all the rest  of the company1 was  
mighty pretty40,c    ,this rivalry      
between the orator and the occasion is  
inevitable1 and  the occasion always    

yields to the eminence of the speaker2  
for a great  man is the greatest of     
occasions4 ,of course1 the interest of  
the  audience and of the orator         
conspire4 ,it is well with them only    
when his  influence is complete2 then   
only they are well pleased4 ,especially1
 he  consults his power by making       
instead of taking his theme4 ,if he     
should  attempt to instruct the people  
in that which they already know1 he     
would fail2 but1 by making them wise in 
that which he knows1 he has  the        
advantage of the assembly every moment4 
,napoleon's tactics of  marching on the 
angle of an army1 and always presenting 
a superiority  of numbers1 is the       
orator's secret also4    ,the several   
talents which the orator employs1 the   
splendid weapons  which went to the     
equipment of ,demosthenes1 of schines1  
of ,demades  the natural orator1 of     
,fox1 of ,pitt1 of ,patrick ,henry1 of  
,adams1 of  ,mirabeau1 deserve a special
 enumeration4 ,we must not quite omit to

 name  the principal pieces4    ,the    
orator1 as we have seen1 must be a      
substantial personality4 ,then1  first1 
he must have power of statement1--must  
have the fact1 and  know how to tell it4
 ,in any knot of men conversing on any  
subject1  the person who knows most     
about it will have the ear of the       
company1  if he wishes it1 and lead the 
conversation1--no matter what genius  or
 distinction other men there present may
 have2 and in any public  assembly1 him 
who has the facts1 and can and will     
state them1 people  will listen to1     
though he is otherwise ignorant1 though 
he is hoarse  and ungraceful1 though he 
stutters and screams4    ,in a court of 
justice1 the audience are impartial2    
they really wish to  sift the statements
 and know what the truth is4 ,and in the
 examination  of witnesses there usually
 leap out1 quite unexpectedly1 three or 
four  stubborn words or phrases which   
are the pith and fate of the business1  
which sink into the ear of all parties1 

and stick there1 and determine  the     
cause4 ,all the rest is repetition and  
qualifying2 and the court  and the      
county have really come together to     
arrive at these three or  four memorable
 expressions1 which betrayed the mind   
and meaning of  somebody4    ,in every  
company1 the man with the fact is like  
the guide you hire to  lead your party  
up a mountain1 or through a difficult   
country4 ,he may  not compare with any  
of the party in mind1 or breeding1 or   
courage1 or  possessions1 but he is much
 more important to the present need than
  any of them4 ,that is what we go to   
the court-house for1--the statement  of 
the fact1 and the elimination of a      
general fact1 the real relation  of all 
the parties2 and it is the certainty    
with which1 indifferently  in any affair
 that is well handled1 the truth stares 
us in the face1  through all the        
disguises that are put upon it1--a piece
 of the  well-known human life1--that   
makes the interest of a court-room to   

the  intelligent spectator4    ,i       
remember1 long ago1 being attracted by  
the distinction of the  counsel1 and the
 local importance of the cause1 into the
 court-room4  ,the prisoner's counsel   
were the strongest and cunningest       
lawyers in  the ,commonwealth4 ,they    
drove the attorney for the ,state from  
corner to  corner1 taking his reasons   
from under him1 and reducing him to     
silence1  but not to submission4 ,when  
hard pressed1 he revenged himself1 in   
his  turn1 on the judge1 by requiring   
the court to define what salvage was4   
,the court1 thus pushed1 tried words1   
and said everything it could  think of  
to fill the time1 supposing cases1 and  
describing duties of  insurers1         
captains1 pilots1 and miscellaneous     
sea-officers that are or  might         
be1--like a schoolmaster puzzled by a   
hard sum1 who reads the  context with   
emphasis4 ,but all this flood not       
serving the cuttle-fish  to get away in1
 the horrible shark of the              

district-attorney being still  there1   
grimly awaiting with his 8,the court    
must define10--the poor  court pleaded  
its inferiority4 ,the superior court    
must establish the  law for this1 and it
 read away piteously the decisions of   
the ,supreme  ,court1 but read to those 
who had no pity4 ,the judge was forced  
at last  to rule something1 and the     
lawyers saved their rogue under the fog 
of a definition4 ,the parts were so well
 cast and discriminated1 that  it was an
 interesting game to watch4 ,the        
government was well enough  represented4
 ,it was stupid1 but it had a strong    
will and possession1  and stood on that 
to the last4 ,the judge had a task      
beyond his  preparation1 yet his        
position remained real3 he was there to 
represent  a great reality1--the justice
 of states1 which we could well enough  
see  beetling over his head1 and which  
his trifling talk nowise affected1  and 
did not impede1 since he was entirely   
well-meaning4    ,the statement of the  

fact1 however1 sinks before the         
statement of  the law1 which requires   
immeasurably higher powers1 and is a    
rarest  gift1 being in all great masters
 one and the same thing1--in  lawyers1  
nothing technical1 but always some piece
 of common sense1  alike interesting to 
laymen as to clerks4 ,lord ,mansfield's 
merit  is the merit of common sense4 ,it
 is the same quality we admire in       
,aristotle1 ,montaigne1 ,cervantes1 or  
in ,samuel ,johnson1 or ,franklin4 ,its 
application to law seems quite          
accidental4 ,each of ,mansfield's famous
  decisions contains a level sentence or
 two1 which hit the mark4 ,his          
sentences are not always finished to the
 eye1 but are finished to the  mind4    
,the sentences are involved1 but a solid
 proposition is set forth1  a true      
distinction is drawn4 ,they come from   
and they go to the sound  human         
understanding2 and ,i read without      
surprise that the black-letter  lawyers 
of the day sneered at his 8equitable    

decisions10 as if they  were not also   
learned4 ,this1 indeed1 is what speech  
is for1--to make  the statement2 and all
 that is called eloquence seems to me of
 little  use1 for the most part1 to     
those who have if1 but inestimable to   
such  as have something to say4    ,next
 to the knowledge of the fact and its   
law is method1 which  constitutes the   
genius and efficiency of all remarkable 
men4 ,a crowd  of men go up to ,faneuil 
,hall2 they are all pretty well         
acquainted with  the object of the      
meeting2 they have all read the facts in
 the same  newspapers4 ,the orator      
possesses no information which his      
hearers have  not2 yet he teaches them  
to see the thing with his eyes4 ,by the 
new  placing1 the circumstances acquire 
new solidity and worth4 ,every fact     
gains consequence by his naming it1 and 
trifles become important4 ,his          
expressions fix themselves in men's     
memories1 and fly from mouth to  mouth4 
,his mind has some new principle of     

order4 ,where he looks1 all  things fly 
into their places4 ,what will he say    
next8 ,let this man  speak1 and this man
 only4 ,by applying the habits of a     
higher style of  thought to the common  
affairs of this world1 he introduces    
beauty and  magnificence wherever he    
goes4 ,such a power was ,burke's1 and of
 this  genius we have had some brilliant
 examples in our own political and      
legal men4    ,imagery4 ,the orator must
 be1 to a certain extent1 a poet4 ,we   
are  such imaginative creatures1 that   
nothing so works on the human mind1     
barbarous or civil1 as a trope4         
,condense some daily experience into a  
glowing symbol1 and an audience is      
electrified4 ,they feel as if they      
already possessed some new right and    
power over a fact1 which they can       
detach1 and so completely master in     
thought4 ,it is a wonderful aid to  the 
memory1 which carries away the image1   
and never loses it4 ,a popular          
assembly1 like the ,house of ,commons1  

or the ,french ,chamber1 or the         
,american ,congress1 is commanded by    
these two powers1--first by a fact1     
then by skill of statement4 ,put the    
argument into a concrete shape1  into an
 image1--some hard phrase1 round and    
solid as a ball1 which they  can see and
 handle and carry home with them1--and  
the cause is half  won4    ,statement1  
method1 imagery1 selection1 tenacity of 
memory1 power of  dealing with facts1 of
 illuminating them1 of sinking them by  
ridicule  or by diversion of the mind1  
rapid generalization1 humor1 pathos1    
are keys which the orator holds2 and yet
 these fine gifts are not  eloquence1   
and do often hinder a man's attainment  
of it4 ,and if we  come to the heart of 
the mystery1 perhaps we should say that 
the truly  eloquent man is a sane man   
with power to communicate his sanity4   
,if  you arm the man with the           
extraordinary weapons of this art1 give 
him  a grasp of facts1 learning1 quick  
fancy1 sarcasm1 splendid allusion1      

interminable illustration1--all these   
talents1 so potent and charming1  have  
an equal power to insnare and mislead   
the audience and the orator4  ,his      
talents are too much for him1 his horses
 run away with him2 and  people always  
perceive whether you drive1 or whether  
the horses take  the bits in their teeth
 and run4 ,but these talents are quite  
something  else when they are           
subordinated and serve him2 and we go to
 ,washington1  or to ,westminster ,hall1
 or might well go round the world1 to   
see a  man who drives1 and is not run   
away with1--a man who1 in prosecuting   
great designs1 has an absolute command  
of the means of representing his  ideas1
 and uses them only to express these2   
placing facts1 placing men2  amid the   
inconceivable levity of human beings1   
never for an instant  warped from his   
erectness4 ,there is for every man a    
statement possible  of that truth which 
he is most unwilling to receive1--a     
statement  possible1 so broad and so    

pungent that he cannot get away from it1
 but  must either bend to it or die of  
it4 ,else there would be no such word   
as eloquence1 which means this4 ,the    
listener cannot hide from himself  that 
something has been shown him and the    
whole world1 which he did  not wish to  
see2 and1 as he cannot dispose of it1 it
 disposes of him4  ,the history of      
public men and affairs in ,america will 
readily furnish  tragic examples of this
 fatal force4    ,for the triumphs of   
the art somewhat more must still be     
required1  namely1 a reinforcing of man 
from events1 so as to give the double   
force of reason and destiny4 ,in        
transcendent eloquence1 there was  ever 
some crisis in affairs1 such as could   
deeply engage the man to  the cause he  
pleads1 and draw all this wide power to 
a point4 ,for  the explosions and       
eruptions1 there must be accumulations  
of heat  somewhere1 beds of ignited     
anthracite at the centre4 ,and in cases 
where  profound conviction has been     

wrought1 the eloquent man is he who is  
no  beautiful speaker1 but who is       
inwardly drunk with a certain belief4   
,it  agitates and tears him1 and perhaps
 almost bereaves him of the power  of   
articulation4 ,then it rushes from him  
as in short1 abrupt screams1  in        
torrents of meaning4 ,the possession the
 subject has of his mind is  so entire1 
that it insures an order of expression  
which is the order  of ,nature itself1  
and so the order of greatest force1 and 
inimitable  by any art4 ,and the main   
distinction between him and other       
well-graced  actors is the conviction1  
communicated by every word1 that his    
mind is  contemplating a whole1 and     
inflamed by the contemplation of the    
whole1  and that the words and sentences
 uttered by him1 however admirable1     
fall from him as unregarded parts of    
that terrible whole which he  sees1 and 
which he means that you shall see4 ,add 
to this concentration  a certain regnant
 calmness1 which1 in all the tumult1    

never utters a  premature syllable1 but 
keeps the secret of its means and       
method2 and  the orator stands before   
the people as a demoniacal power to     
whose  miracles they have no key4 ,this 
terrible earnestness makes good the     
ancient superstition of the hunter1 that
 the bullet will hit its mark1  which is
 first dipped in the marksman's blood4  
,eloquence must be grounded on the      
plainest narrative4 ,afterwards1 it  may
 warm itself until it exhales symbols of
 every kind and color1  speaks only     
through the most poetic forms2 but1     
first and last1 it  must still be at    
bottom a biblical statement of fact4    
,the orator is  thereby an orator1 that 
he keeps his feet ever on a fact4 ,thus 
only  is he invincible4 ,no gifts1 no   
graces1 no power of wit or learning or  
illustration1 will make any amends for  
want of this4 ,all audiences  are just  
to this point4 ,fame of voice or of     
rhetoric will carry people  a few times 
to hear a speaker2 but they soon begin  

to ask1 8,what  is he driving at80 and  
if this man does not stand for anything1
 he  will be deserted4 ,a good upholder 
of anything which they believe1 a       
fact-speaker of any kind1 they will long
 follow2 but a pause in the  speaker's  
own character is very properly a loss of
 attraction4 ,the  preacher enumerates  
his classes of men1 and ,i do not find  
my place  therein2 ,i suspect1 then1    
that no man does4 ,everything is my     
cousin2  and whilst he speaks things1 ,i
 feel that he is touching some of my    
relations1 and ,i am uneasy2 but whilst 
he deals in words1 we are  released from
 attention4 ,if you would lift me1 you  
must be on higher  ground4 ,if you would
 liberate me1 you must be free4 ,if you 
would  correct my false view of         
facts1--hold up to me the same facts in 
the  true order of thought1 and ,i      
cannot go back from the new conviction4 
,the power of ,chatham1 of ,pericles1 of
 ,luther1 rested on this strength  of   
character1 which1 because it did not and

 could not fear anybody1  made nothing  
of their antagonists1 and became        
sometimes exquisitely  provoking and    
sometimes terrific to these4    ,we are 
slenderly furnished with anecdotes of   
these men1 nor can we help  ourselves by
 those heavy books in which their       
discourses are reported4  ,some of them 
were writers1 like ,burke2 but most of  
them were not1  and no record at all    
adequate to their fame remains4         
,besides1 what  is best is lost1--the   
fiery life of the moment4 ,but the      
conditions  for eloquence always exist4 
,it is always dying out of famous       
places1  and appearing in corners4      
,wherever the polarities meet1 wherever 
the  fresh moral sentiment1 the instinct
 of freedom and duty1 come in  direct   
opposition to fossil conservatism and   
the thirst of gain1 the  spark will     
pass4 ,the resistance to slavery in this
 country has been a  fruitful nursery of
 orators4 ,the natural connection by    
which it drew  to itself a train of     

moral reforms1 and the slight yet       
sufficient  party organization it       
offered1 reinforced the city with new   
blood from  the woods and mountains4    
,wild men1 ,john ,baptists1 ,hermit     
,peters1 ,john  ,knoxes1 utter the      
savage sentiment of ,nature in the heart
 of commercial  capitals4 ,they send us 
every year some piece of aboriginal     
strength1  some tough oak-stick of a man
 who is not to be silenced or insulted  
or intimidated by a mob1 because he is  
more mob than they1--one who  mobs the  
mob1--some sturdy countryman1 on whom   
neither money1 nor  politeness1 nor hard
 words1 nor eggs1 nor blows1 nor        
brickbats1 make  any impression4 ,he is 
fit to meet the bar-room wits and       
bullies2 he is  a wit and a bully       
himself1 and something more3 he is a    
graduate of the  plough1 and the        
stub-hoe1 and the bushwhacker2 knows all
 the secrets  of swamp and snow-bank1   
and has nothing to learn of labor or    
poverty  or the rough of farming4 ,his  

hard head went through1 in childhood1   
the  drill of ,calvinism1 with text and 
mortification1 so that he stands  in the
 ,new ,england assembly a purer bit of  
,new ,england than any1 and  flings his 
sarcasms right and left4 ,he has not    
only the documents in  his pocket to    
answer all cavils1 and to prove all his 
positions1 but  he has the eternal      
reason in his head4 ,this man scornfully
 renounces  your civil                  
organizations1--county1 or city1 or     
governor1 or army1--is  his own navy and
 artillery1 judge and jury1 legislature 
and executive4  ,he has learned his     
lessons in a bitter school4 ,yet1 if the
 pupil be of  a texture to bear it1 the 
best university that can be recommended 
to a  man of ideas is the gauntlet of   
the mobs4    ,he who will train himself 
to mastery in this science of persuasion
 must  lay the emphasis of education1   
not on popular arts1 but on character   
and insight4 ,let him see that his      
speech is not differenced from  action2 

that1 when he has spoken1 he has not    
done nothing1 nor done  wrong1 but has  
cleared his own skirts1 has engaged     
himself to wholesome  exertion4 ,let him
 look on opposition as opportunity4 ,he 
cannot be  defeated or put down4 ,there 
is a principle of resurrection in him1  
an  immortality of purpose4 ,men are    
averse and hostile1 to give value to    
their suffrages4 ,it is not the people  
that are in fault for not being         
convinced1 but he that cannot convince  
them4 ,he should mould them1  armed as  
he is with the reason and love which are
 also the core of  their nature4 ,he is 
not to neutralize their opposition1 but 
he is to  convert them into fiery       
apostles and publishers of the same     
wisdom4    ,the highest platform of     
eloquence is the moral sentiment4 ,it is
 what  is called affirmative truth1 and 
has the property of invigorating the    
hearer2 and it conveys a hint of our    
eternity1 when he feels himself         
addressed on grounds which will remain  

when everything else is taken1  and     
which have no trace of time or place or 
party4 ,everything hostile  is stricken 
down in the presence of the sentiments2 
their majesty is  felt by the most      
obdurate4 ,it is observable that1 as    
soon as one acts  for large masses1 the 
moral element will and must be allowed  
for1  will and must work2 and the men   
least accustomed to appeal to these     
sentiments invariably recall them when  
they address nations4 ,napoleon1  even1 
must accept and use it as he can4    ,it
 is only to these simple strokes that   
the highest power  belongs1--when a weak
 human hand touches1 point by point1 the
 eternal  beams and rafters on which the
 whole structure of ,nature and society 
is laid4 ,in this tossing sea of        
delusion1 we feel with our feet the     
adamant2 in this dominion of chance1 we 
find a principle of permanence4  ,for ,i
 do not accept that definition of       
,isocrates1 that the office of  his art 
is1 to make the great small and the     

small great2 but ,i esteem  this to be  
its perfection1--when the orator sees   
through all masks to  the eternal scale 
of truth1 in such sort that he can hold 
up before  the eyes of men the fact of  
to-day steadily to that standard1       
thereby  making the great great1 and the
 small small1 which is the true way to  
astonish and to reform mankind4    ,all 
the chief orators of the world have been
 grave men1 relying on  this reality4   
,one thought the philosophers of        
,demosthenes's own time  found running  
through all his orations1--this namely1 
that 8virtue  secures its own success40 
8,to stand on one's own feet0 ,heeren   
finds the  key-note to the discourses of
 ,demosthenes1 as of ,chatham4          
,eloquence1 like every other art1 rests 
on laws the most exact and  determinate4
 ,it is the best speech of the best     
soul4 ,it may well stand  as the        
exponent of all that is grand and       
immortal in the mind4 ,if it do  not so 
become an instrument1 but aspires to be 

somewhat of itself1 and  to glitter for 
show1 it is false and weak4 ,in its     
right exercise1 it  is an elastic1      
unexhausted power1--who has sounded1 who
 has estimated  it8--expanding with the 
expansion of our interests and          
affections4 ,its  great masters1 whilst 
they valued every help to its           
attainment1 and  thought no pains too   
great which contributed in any manner to
 further  it2--resembling the ,arabian  
warrior of fame1 who wore seventeen     
weapons  in his belt1 and in personal   
combat used them all occasionally2--yet 
subordinated all means2 never permitted 
any talent--neither voice1  rhythm1     
poetic power1 anecdote1 sarcasm--to     
appear for show2 but were  grave men1   
who preferred their integrity to their  
talent1 and esteemed  that object for   
which they toiled1 whether the          
prosperity of their  country1 or the    
laws1 or a reformation1 or liberty of   
speech or of the  press1 or letters1 or 
morals1 as above the whole world1 and   

themselves  also4          ,,domestic   
,,life4          ,,domestic ,,life4     
,the perfection of the providence for   
childhood is easily acknowledged4  ,the 
care which covers the seed of the tree  
under tough husks and stony  cases      
provides for the human plant the        
mother's breast and the father's  house4
 ,the size of the nestler is comic1 and 
its tiny beseeching  weakness is        
compensated perfectly by the happy      
patronizing look of the  mother1 who is 
a sort of high reposing ,providence     
toward it4 ,welcome to  the parents the 
puny struggler1 strong in his weakness1 
his little arms  more irresistible than 
the soldier's1 his lips touched with    
persuasion  which ,chatham and ,pericles
 in manhood had not4 ,his unaffected    
lamentations when he lifts up his voice 
on high1 or1 more beautiful1  the       
sobbing child1--the face all liquid     
grief1 as he tries to swallow  his      
vexation1--soften all hearts to pity1   
and to mirthful and  clamorous          

compassion4 ,the small despot asks so   
little that all reason  and all nature  
are on his side4 ,his ignorance is more 
charming than  all knowledge1 and his   
little sins more bewitching than any    
virtue4  ,his flesh is angels' flesh1   
all alive4 8,infancy10 said ,coleridge1 
8presents body and spirit in unity3 the 
body is all animated40 ,all  day1       
between his three or four sleeps1 he    
coos like a pigeon-house1  sputters1 and
 spurs1 and puts on his faces of        
importance2 and when he  fasts1 the     
little ,pharisee fails not to sound his 
trumpet before him4  ,by lamplight he   
delights in shadows on the wall2 by     
daylight1 in yellow  and scarlet4 ,carry
 him out of doors1--he is overpowered by
 the light  and by the extent of natural
 objects1 and is silent4 ,then presently
  begins his use of his fingers1 and he 
studies power1 the lesson of  his race4 
,first it appears in no great harm1 in  
architectural tastes4  ,out of blocks1  
thread-spools1 cards1 and checkers1 he  

will build his  pyramid with the gravity
 of ,palladio4 ,with an acoustic        
apparatus of  whistle and rattle he     
explores the laws of sound4 ,but        
chiefly1 like his  senior countrymen1   
the young ,american studies new and     
speedier modes of  transportation4      
,mistrusting the cunning of his small   
legs1 he wishes  to ride on the necks   
and shoulders of all flesh4 ,the small  
enchanter  nothing can withstand1--no   
seniority of age1 no gravity of         
character2  uncles1 aunts1 grandsires1  
grandams1 fall an easy prey3 he conforms
 to  nobody1 all conform to him2 all    
caper and make mouths1 and babble1 and  
chirrup to him4 ,on the strongest       
shoulders he rides1 and pulls the hair  
of laurelled heads4    8,the childhood10
 said ,milton1 8shows the man1 as       
morning shows the  day40 ,the child     
realizes to every man his own earliest  
remembrance1  and so supplies a defect  
in our education1 or enables us to live 
over  the unconscious history with a    

sympathy so tender as to be almost      
personal experience4    ,fast--almost   
too fast for the wistful curiosity of   
the parents1  studious of the witchcraft
 of curls and dimples and broken        
words--the  little talker grows to a    
boy4 ,he walks daily among wonders3     
fire1  light1 darkness1 the moon1 the   
stars1 the furniture of the house1 the  
red tin horse1 the domestics1 who like  
rude foster-mothers befriend and  feed  
him1 the faces that claim his kisses1   
are all in turn absorbing2  yet warm1   
cheerful1 and with good appetite the    
little sovereign subdues  them without  
knowing it2 the new knowledge is taken  
up into the life of  to-day and becomes 
the means of more4 ,the blowing rose is 
a new event2  the garden full of flowers
 is ,eden over again to the small ,adam2
 the  rain1 the ice1 the frost1 make    
epochs in his life4 ,what a holiday is  
the first snow in which ,twoshoes can be
 trusted abroad6    ,what art can paint 
or gild any object in after-life with   

the glow which  ,nature gives to the    
first baubles of childhood6 ,st4        
,peter's cannot  have the magical power 
over us that the red and gold covers of 
our  first picture-book possessed4 ,how 
the imagination cleaves to the warm     
glories of that tinsel even now6 ,what  
entertainments make every day  bright   
and short for the fine freshman6 ,the   
street is old as ,nature2  the persons  
all have their sacredness4 ,his         
imaginative life dresses all  things in 
their best4 ,his fears adorn the dark   
parts with poetry4 ,he  has heard of    
wild horses and of bad boys1 and with a 
pleasing terror he  watches at his gate 
for the passing of those varieties of   
each species4  ,the first ride into the 
country1 the first bath in running      
water1  the first time the skates are   
put on1 the first game out of doors in  
moonlight1 the books of the nursery1 are
 new chapters of joy4 ,the  8,arabian   
,nights' ,entertainments10 the 8,seven  
,champions of ,christendom10  8,robinson

 ,crusoe10 and the 8,pilgrim's          
,progress10--what mines of thought  and 
emotion1 what a wardrobe to dress the   
whole world withal1 are  in this        
encyclopdia of young thinking6 ,and so  
by beautiful traits1  which1 without    
art1 yet seem the masterpiece of wisdom1
 provoking the  love that watches and   
educates him1 the little pilgrim        
prosecutes the  journey through nature  
which he has thus gayly begun4 ,he grows
 up the  ornament and joy of the house1 
which rings to his glee1 to rosy        
boyhood4    ,the household is the home  
of the man1 as well as of the child4    
,the  events that occur therein are more
 near and affecting to us than  those   
which are sought in senates and         
academies4 ,domestic events are         
certainly our affair4 ,what are called  
public events may or may not  be ours4  
,if a man wishes to acquaint himself    
with the real history  of the world1    
with the spirit of the age1 he must not 
go first to  the state-house or the     

court-room4 ,the subtle spirit of life  
must be  sought in facts nearer4 ,it is 
what is done and suffered in the house1 
in the constitution1 in the temperament1
 in the personal history1 that  has the 
profoundest interest for us4 ,fact is   
better than fiction1 if  only we could  
get pure fact4 ,do you think any        
rhetoric or any romance  would get your 
ear from the wise gypsy who could tell  
straight on the  real fortunes of the   
man2 who could reconcile your moral     
character and  your natural history2 who
 could explain your misfortunes1 your   
fevers1  your debts1 your temperament1  
your habits of thought1 your tastes1    
and1 in every explanation1 not sever you
 from the whole1 but unite you  to it8  
,is it not plain that not in senates1 or
 courts1 or chambers  of commerce1 but  
in the dwelling-house must the true     
character and  hope of the time be      
consulted8 ,these facts are1 to be sure1
 harder to  read4 ,it is easier to count
 the census1 or compute the square      

extent  of a territory1 to criticise its
 polity1 books1 art1 than to come to    
the persons and dwellings of men1 and   
read their character and hope  in their 
way of life4 ,yet we are always hovering
 round this better  divination4 ,in one 
form or another1 we are always returning
 to it4 ,the  physiognomy and phrenology
 of to-day are rash and mechanical      
systems  enough1 but they rest on       
everlasting foundations4 ,we are sure   
that  the sacred form of man is not seen
 in these whimsical1 pitiful1 and       
sinister masks 7masks which we wear and 
which we meet71 these bloated  and      
shrivelled bodies1 bald heads1 bead     
eyes1 short winds1 puny and  precarious 
healths1 and early deaths4 ,we live     
ruins amidst ruins4 ,the  great facts   
are the near ones4 ,the account of the  
body is to be sought  in the mind4 ,the 
history of your fortunes is written     
first in your life4    ,let us come1    
then1 out of the public square1 and     
enter the domestic  precinct4 ,let us go

 to the sitting-room1 the table-talk1   
and the  expenditure of our             
contemporaries4 ,an increased           
consciousness of the  soul1 you say1    
characterizes the period4 ,let us see if
 it has not only  arranged the atoms at 
the circumference1 but the atoms at the 
core4  ,does the household obey an idea8
 ,do you see the man1--his form1 genius1
  and aspiration1--in his economy8 ,is  
that translucent1 thorough-lighted8     
,there should be nothing confounding and
 conventional in economy1 but  the      
genius and love of the man so           
conspicuously marked in all his  estate1
 that the eye that knew him should read 
his character in his  property1 in his  
grounds1 in his ornaments1 in every     
expense4 ,a man's  money should not     
follow the direction of his neighbor's  
money1 but  should represent to him the 
things he would willingliest do with it4
 ,i  am not one thing and my expenditure
 another4 ,my expenditure is me4 ,that  
our expenditure and our character are   

twain1 is the vice of society4    ,we   
ask the price of many things in shops   
and stalls1 but some things  each man   
buys without hesitation1 if it were only
 letters at the  post-office1 conveyance
 in carriages and boats1 tools for his  
work1  books that are written to his    
condition1 etc4 ,let him never buy      
anything else than what he wants1 never 
subscribe at others' instance1  never   
give unwillingly4 ,thus1 a scholar is a 
literary foundation4  ,all his expense  
is for ,aristotle1 ,fabricius1 ,erasmus1
 and ,petrarch4  ,do not ask him to help
 with his savings young drapers or      
grocers to  stock their shops1 or eager 
agents to lobby in legislatures1 or join
 a  company to build a factory or a     
fishing-craft4 ,these things are also   
to be done1 but not by such as he4 ,how 
could such a book as ,plato's           
,dialogues have come down1 but for the  
sacred savings of scholars and  their   
fantastic appropriation of them8        
,another man is a mechanical genius1 an 

inventor of looms1 a builder  of        
ships1--a ship-building foundation1 and 
could achieve nothing  if he should     
dissipate himself on books or on horses4
 ,another is a  farmer1--an agricultural
 foundation2 another is a chemist1--and 
the  same rule holds for all4 ,we must  
not make believe with our money1 but    
spend heartily1 and buy up and not down4
    ,i am afraid that1 so considered1   
our houses will not be found to have    
unity1 and to express the best thought4 
,the household1 the calling1  the       
friendships1 of the citizen are not     
homogeneous4 ,his house ought  to show  
us his honest opinion of what makes his 
well-being when he  rests among his     
kindred1 and forgets all affectation1   
compliance1  and even exertion of will4 
,he brings home whatever commodities and
  ornaments have for years allured his  
pursuit1 and his character must be  seen
 in them4 ,but what idea predominates in
 our houses8 ,thrift first1  then       
convenience and pleasure4 ,take off all 

the roofs1 from street to  street1 and  
we shall seldom find the temple of any  
higher god than  ,prudence4 ,the        
progress of domestic living has been in 
cleanliness1 in  ventilation1 in health1
 in decorum1 in countless means and arts
 of  comfort1 in the concentration of   
all the utilities of every clime in     
each house4 ,they are arranged for low  
benefits4 ,the houses of the rich  are  
confectioners' shops1 where we get      
sweetmeats and wine2 the houses  of the 
poor are imitations of these to the     
extent of their ability4  ,with these   
ends housekeeping is not beautiful2 it  
cheers and raises  neither the husband1 
the wife1 nor the child2 neither the    
host1 nor  the guest2 it oppresses      
women4 ,a house kept to the end of      
prudence is  laborious without joy2 a   
house kept to the end of display is     
impossible  to all but a few women1 and 
their success is dearly bought4    ,if  
we look at this matter curiously1 it    
becomes dangerous4 ,we need  all the    

force of an idea to lift this load2 for 
the wealth and  multiplication of       
conveniences embarrass us1 especially in
 northern  climates4 ,the shortest      
enumeration of our wants in this rugged 
climate  appalls us by the multitude of 
things not easy to be done4 ,and if you 
look at the multitude of particulars1   
one would say3 ,good housekeeping  is   
impossible2 order is too precious a     
thing to dwell with men and  women4     
,see1 in families where there is both   
substance and taste1 at  what expense   
any favorite punctuality is maintained4 
,if the children1  for example1 are     
considered1 dressed1 dieted1 attended1  
kept in proper  company1 schooled1 and  
at home fostered by the parents1--then  
does the  hospitality of the house      
suffer2 friends are less carefully      
bestowed1  the daily table less catered4
 ,if the hours of meals are punctual1   
the  apartments are slovenly4 ,if the   
linens and hangings are clean and fine1 
and the furniture good1 the yard1 the   

garden1 the fences are neglected4  ,if  
all are well attended1 then must the    
master and mistress be studious  of     
particulars at the cost of their own    
accomplishments and growth1--or  persons
 are treated as things4    ,the         
difficulties to be overcome must be     
freely admitted2 they are  many and     
great4 ,nor are they to be disposed of  
by any criticism  or amendment of       
particulars taken one at a time1 but    
only by the  arrangement of the         
household to a higher end than those to 
which our  dwellings are usually built  
and furnished4 ,and is there any        
calamity  more grave1 or that more      
invokes the best good-will to remove it1
  than this8--to go from chamber to     
chamber1 and see no beauty2 to find  in 
the housemates no aim2 to hear an       
endless chatter and blast2 to be        
compelled to criticise2 to hear only to 
dissent and to be disgusted2  to find no
 invitation to what is good in us1 and  
no receptacle for  what is wise2--this  

is a great price to pay for sweet bread 
and warm  lodging1--being defrauded of  
affinity1 of repose1 of genial culture1 
and the inmost presence of beauty4      
,it is a sufficient accusation of our   
ways of living1 and certainly  ought to 
open our ear to every good-minded       
reformer1 that our idea of  domestic    
well-being now needs wealth to execute  
it4 ,give me the means1  says the wife1 
and your house shall not annoy your     
taste nor waste  your time4 ,on hearing 
this1 we understand how these ,means    
have come  to be so omnipotent on earth4
 ,and indeed the love of wealth seems to
  grow chiefly out of the root of the   
love of the ,beautiful4 ,the desire  of 
gold is not for gold4 ,it is not the    
love of much wheat and wool  and        
household-stuff4 ,it is the means of    
freedom and benefit4 ,we scorn  shifts2 
we desire the elegance of munificence2  
we desire at least to  put no stint or  
limit on our parents1 relatives1 guests1
 or dependents2  we desire to play the  

benefactor and the prince with our      
townsmen1 with  the stranger at the     
gate1 with the bard1 or the beauty1 with
 the man  or woman of worth1 who alights
 at our door4 ,how can we do this1 if   
the  wants of each day imprison us in   
lucrative labors1 and constrain us to  a
 continual vigilance lest we be betrayed
 into expense8    ,give us wealth1 and  
the home shall exist4 ,but that is a    
very  imperfect and inglorious solution 
of the problem1 and therefore no        
solution4 8,give us wealth40 ,you ask   
too much4 ,few have wealth2 but  all    
must have a home4 ,men are not born     
rich2 and in getting wealth1 the  man is
 generally sacrificed1 and often is     
sacrificed without acquiring  wealth at 
last4 ,besides1 that cannot be the right
 answer2--there are  objections to      
wealth4 ,wealth is a shift4 ,the wise   
man angles with  himself only1 and with 
no meaner bait4 ,our whole use of wealth
 needs  revision and reform4 ,generosity
 does not consist in giving money or    

money's worth4 ,these so-called goods   
are only the shadow of good4 ,to  give  
money to a sufferer is only a come-off4 
,it is only a postponement  of the real 
payment1 a bribe paid for silence1--a   
credit-system  in which a paper promise 
to pay answers for the time instead of  
liquidation4 ,we owe to man higher      
succors than food and fire4 ,we owe to  
man man4 ,if he is sick1 is unable1 is  
mean-spirited and odious1 it is  because
 there is so much of his nature which is
 unlawfully withholden  from him4 ,he   
should be visited in this his prison    
with rebuke to the  evil demons1 with   
manly encouragement1 with no            
mean-spirited offer of  condolence      
because you have not money1 or mean     
offer of money as the  utmost benefit1  
but by your heroism1 your purity1 and   
your faith4  ,you are to bring with you 
that spirit which is understanding1     
health  and self-help4 ,to offer him    
money in lieu of these is to do him the 
same wrong as when the bridegroom offers

 his betrothed virgin a sum  of money to
 release him from his engagements4 ,the 
great depend on  their heart1 not on    
their purse4 ,genius and virtue1 like   
diamonds1  are best plain-set1--set in  
lead1 set in poverty4 ,the greatest man 
in  history was the poorest4 ,how was it
 with the captains and sages of  ,greece
 and ,rome1 with ,socrates1 with        
,epaminondas8 ,aristides was made       
general receiver of ,greece1 to collect 
the tribute which each state  was to    
furnish against the barbarian4 8,poor10 
says ,plutarch1 8when he  set about it1 
poorer when he had finished it40 ,how   
was it with milius  and ,cato8 ,what    
kind of house was kept by ,paul and     
,john1--by ,milton and  ,marvell1--by   
,samuel ,johnson1--by ,samuel ,adams in 
,boston1 and ,jean ,paul  ,richter at   
,baireuth8    ,i think it plain that    
this voice of communities and ages1     
#8,give us  wealth1 and the good        
household shall exist1' is vicious1 and 
leaves  the whole difficulty untouched4 

,it is better1 certainly1 in this form1 
#8,give us your labor1 and the household
 begins4' ,i see not how serious  labor1
 the labor of all and every day1 is to  
be avoided2 and many  things betoken a  
revolution of opinion and practice in   
regard to manual  labor that may go far 
to aid our practical inquiry4 ,another  
age may  divide the manual labor of the 
world more equally on all the members   
of society1 and so make the labors of a 
few hours avail to the wants  and add to
 the vigor of the man4 ,but the reform  
that applies itself to  the household   
must not be partial4 ,it must correct   
the whole system of  our social living4 
,it must come with plain living and high
 thinking2 it  must break up caste1 and 
put domestic service on another         
foundation4  ,it must come in connection
 with a true acceptance by each man of  
his  vocation1--not chosen by his       
parents or friends1 but by his genius1  
with earnestness and love4    ,nor is   
this redress so hopeless as it seems4   

,certainly1 if we begin by  reforming   
particulars of our present system1      
correcting a few evils  and letting the 
rest stand1 we shall soon give up in    
despair4 ,for our  social forms are very
 far from truth and equity4 ,but the way
 to set the  axe at the root of the tree
 is1 to raise our aim4 ,let us          
understand1  then1 that a house should  
bear witness in all its economy that    
human  culture is the end to which it is
 built and garnished4 ,it stands there  
under the sun and moon to ends          
analogous1 and not less noble than      
theirs4 ,it is not for festivity1 it is 
not for sleep3 but the pine and  the oak
 shall gladly descend from the mountains
 to uphold the roof of  men as faithful 
and necessary as themselves2 to be the  
shelter always  open to good and true   
persons2--a hall which shines with      
sincerity1  brows ever tranquil1 and a  
demeanor impossible to disconcert2 whose
  inmates know what they want2 who do   
not ask your house how theirs  should be

 kept4 ,they have aims3 they cannot     
pause for trifles4 ,the  diet of the    
house does not create its order1 but    
knowledge1 character1  action1 absorb so
 much life and yield so much            
entertainment that the  refectory has   
ceased to be so curiously studied4 ,with
 a change of aim  has followed a change 
of the whole scale by which men and     
things were  wont to be measured4       
,wealth and poverty are seen for what   
they are4  ,it begins to be seen that   
the poor are only they who feel poor1   
and  poverty consists in feeling poor4  
,the rich1 as we reckon them1 and  among
 them the very rich1 in a true scale    
would be found very indigent  and       
ragged4 ,the great make us feel1 first  
of all1 the indifference of             
circumstances4 ,they call into activity 
the higher perceptions1 and  subdue the 
low habits of comfort and luxury2 but   
the higher perceptions  find their      
objects everywhere3 only the low habits 
need palaces and  banquets4    ,let a   

man1 then1 say1 ,my house is here in the
 county1 for the culture  of the        
county2--an eating-house and            
sleeping-house for travellers it  shall 
be1 but it shall be much more4 ,i pray  
you1 ,o excellent wife1 not  to cumber  
yourself and me to get a rich dinner for
 this man or this  woman who has        
alighted at our gate1 nor a bedchamber  
made ready at too  great a cost4 ,these 
things1 if they are curious in1 they can
 get for  a dollar at any village4 ,but 
let this stranger1 if he will1 in your  
looks1 in your accent and behavior1 read
 your heart and earnestness1  your      
thought and will1 which he cannot buy at
 any price1 in any village  or city1 and
 which he may well travel fifty miles1  
and dine sparely  and sleep hard1 in    
order to behold4 ,certainly1 let the    
board be spread  and let the bed be     
dressed for the traveller2 but let not  
the emphasis  of hospitality lie in     
these things4 ,honor to the house where 
they are  simple to the verge of        

hardship1 so that there the intellect is
 awake  and reads the laws of the       
universe1 the soul worships truth and   
love1  honor and courtesy flow into all 
deeds4    ,there was never a country in 
the world which could so easily exhibit 
this heroism as ours2 never anywhere the
 ,state has made such efficient         
provision for popular education1 where  
intellectual entertainment is  so within
 reach of youthful ambition4 ,the poor  
man's son is educated4  ,there is many a
 humble house in every city1 in every   
town1 where talent  and taste1 and      
sometimes genius1 dwell with poverty and
 labor4 ,who  has not seen1 and who can 
see unmoved1 under a low roof1 the      
eager1  blushing boys discharging as    
they can their household chores1 and    
hastening into the sitting-room to the  
study of to-morrow's merciless  lesson1 
yet stealing time to read one chapter   
more of the novel hardly  smuggled into 
the tolerance of father and             
mother1--atoning for the  same by some  

pages of ,plutarch or ,goldsmith2 the   
warm sympathy with  which they kindle   
each other in school-yard1 or in barn or
 wood-shed1  with scraps of poetry or   
song1 with phrases of the last oration1 
or  mimicry of the orator2 the youthful 
criticism1 on ,sunday1 of the  sermons2 
the school declamation faithfully       
rehearsed at home1 sometimes  to the    
fatigue1 sometimes to the admiration of 
sisters2 the first  solitary joys of    
literary vanity1 when the translation or
 the theme has  been completed1 sitting 
alone near the top of the house2 the    
cautious  comparison of the attractive  
advertisement of the arrival of         
,macready1  ,booth1 or ,kemble1 or of   
the discourse of a well-known speaker1  
with  the expense of the entertainment2 
the affectionate delight with which     
they greet the return of each one after 
the early separations which  school or  
business require2 the foresight with    
which1 during such  absences1 they hive 
the honey which opportunity offers1 for 

the ear and  imagination of the others2 
and the unrestrained glee with which    
they  disburden themselves of their     
early mental treasures when the holidays
  bring them again together8 ,what is   
the hoop that holds them stanch8  ,it is
 the iron band of poverty1 of necessity1
 of austerity1 which1  excluding them   
from the sensual enjoyments which make  
other boys too  early old1 has directed 
their activity in safe and right        
channels1 and  made them1 despite       
themselves1 reverers of the grand1 the  
beautiful1  and the good4 ,ah6          
short-sighted students of books1 of     
,nature1 and of  man6 too happy1 could  
they know their advantages4 ,they pine  
for freedom  from that mild parental    
yoke2 they sigh for fine clothes1 for   
rides1  for the theatre1 and premature  
freedom and dissipation1 which others   
possess4 ,woe to them1 if their wishes  
were crowned6 ,the angels that  dwell   
with them1 and are weaving laurels of   
life for their youthful  brows1 are     

,toil1 and ,want1 and ,truth1 and       
,mutual ,faith4    ,in many parts of    
true economy a cheering lesson may be   
learned from the  mode of life and      
manners of the later ,romans1 as        
described to us in  the letters of the  
younger ,pliny4 ,nor can ,i resist the  
temptation of  quoting so trite an      
instance as the noble housekeeping of   
,lord ,falkland  in ,clarendon3 8,his   
house being within little more than ten 
miles from  ,oxford1 he contracted      
familiarity and friendship with the most
 polite  and accurate men of that       
,university1 who found such an          
immenseness of  wit1 and such a solidity
 of judgment in him1 so infinite a      
fancy1 bound  in by a most logical      
ratiocination1 such a vast knowledge    
that he was  not ignorant in anything1  
yet such an excessive humility1 as if he
 had  known nothing1 that they          
frequently resorted and dwelt with him1 
as in  a college situated in a purer    
air2 so that his house was a university 

in a less volume1 whither they came1 not
 so much for repose as study1  and to   
examine and refine those grosser        
propositions which laziness  and consent
 made current in vulgar conversation40  
,i honor that man whose ambition it is1 
not to win laurels in the state  or the 
army1 not to be a jurist or a           
naturalist1 not to be a poet or  a      
commander1 but to be a master of living 
well1 and to administer  the offices of 
master or servant1 of husband1 father1  
and friend4  ,but it requires as much   
breadth of power for this as for those  
other  functions1--as much1 or          
more1--and the reason for the failure is
 the  same4 ,i think the vice of our    
housekeeping is1 that it does not hold  
man sacred4 ,the vice of government1 the
 vice of education1 the vice of         
religion1 is one with that of private   
life4    ,in the old fables1 we used to 
read of a cloak brought from fairy-land 
as a gift for the fairest and purest in 
,prince ,arthur's court4 ,it was  to be 

her prize whom it would fit4 ,every one 
was eager to try it on1  but it would   
fit nobody3 for one it was a world too  
wide1 for the next  it dragged on the   
ground1 and for the third it shrunk to a
 scarf4 ,they1  of course1 said that the
 devil was in the mantle1 for really the
 truth  was in the mantle1 and was      
exposing the ugliness which each would  
fain  conceal4 ,all drew back with      
terror from the garment4 ,the innocent  
,genelas alone could wear it4 ,in like  
manner1 every man is provided in  his   
thought with a measure of man which he  
applies to every passenger4  ,unhappily1
 not one in many thousands comes up to  
the stature and  proportions of the     
model4 ,neither does the measurer       
himself2 neither  do the people in the  
street2 neither do the select           
individuals whom he  admires1--the      
heroes of the race4 ,when he inspects   
them critically1 he  discovers that     
their aims are low1 that they are too   
quickly satisfied4  ,he observes the    

swiftness with which life culminates1   
and the humility  of the expectations of
 the greatest part of men4 ,to each     
occurs1 soon  after the age of puberty1 
some event1 or society1 or way of       
living1  which becomes the crisis of    
life1 and the chief fact in their       
history4  ,in woman1 it is love and     
marriage 7which is more reasonable72 and
  yet it is pitiful to date and measure 
all the facts and sequel of an          
unfolding life from such a youthful1 and
 generally inconsiderate1  period as the
 age of courtship and marriage4 ,in men1
 it is their place  of education1 choice
 of an employment1 settlement in a town1
 or removal  to the ,east or to the     
,west1 or some other magnified trifle1  
which makes  the meridian moment1 and   
all the after years and actions only    
derive  interest from their relation to 
that4 ,hence it comes that we soon catch
  the trick of each man's conversation1 
and1 knowing his two or three  main     
facts1 anticipate what he thinks of each

 new topic that rises4 ,it  is scarcely 
less perceivable in educated men1 so    
called1 than in the  uneducated4 ,i have
 seen finely endowed men at college     
festivals1 ten1  twenty years after they
 had left the halls1 returning1 as it   
seemed1  the same boys who went away4   
,the same jokes pleased1 the same straws
  tickled2 the manhood and offices they 
brought thither at this return  seemed  
mere ornamental masks3 underneath they  
were boys yet4 ,we never  come to be    
citizens of the world1 but are still    
villagers1 who think  that everything in
 their petty town is a little superior  
to the same  thing anywhere else4 ,in   
each the circumstance signalized        
differs1 but  in each it is made the    
coals of an ever-burning egotism4 ,in   
one1 it was  his going to sea2 in a     
second1 the difficulties he combated in 
going to  college2 in a third1 his      
journey to the ,west1 or his voyage to  
,canton2  in a fourth1 his coming out of
 the ,quaker ,society2 in a fifth1 his  

new diet and regimen2 in a sixth1 his   
coming forth from the abolition         
organizations2 and in a seventh1 his    
going into them4 ,it is a life of  toys 
and trinkets4 ,we are too easily        
pleased4    ,i think this sad result    
appears in the manners4 ,the men we see 
in each  other do not give us the image 
and likeness of man4 ,the men we see are
  whipped through the world2 they are   
harried1 wrinkled1 anxious2 they  all   
seem the hacks of some invisible riders4
 ,how seldom do we behold  tranquillity6
 ,we have never yet seen a man4 ,we do  
not know the majestic  manners that     
belong to him1 which appease and exalt  
the beholder4 ,there  are no divine     
persons with us1 and the multitude do   
not hasten to be  divine4 ,and yet we   
hold fast1 all our lives long1 a faith  
in a better  life1 in better men1 in    
clean and noble relations1              
notwithstanding  our total inexperience 
of a true society4 ,certainly1 this was 
not the  intention of nature1 to        

produce1 with all this immense          
expenditure of  means and power1 so     
cheap and humble a result4 ,the         
aspirations in the  heart after the good
 and true teach us better1--nay1 the men
 themselves  suggest a better life4     
,every individual nature has its own    
beauty4 ,one is struck in every         
company1 at every fireside1 with the    
riches of nature1 when he hears  so many
 new tones1 all musical1 sees in each   
person original manners1  which have a  
proper and peculiar charm1 and reads new
 expressions of  face4 ,he perceives    
that nature has laid for each the       
foundations of a  divine building1 if   
the soul will build thereon4 ,there is  
no face1 no  form1 which one cannot in  
fancy associate with great power of     
intellect  or with generosity of soul4  
,in our experience1 to be sure1 beauty  
is  not1 as it ought to be1 the dower of
 man and of woman as invariably as      
sensation4 ,beauty is1 even in the      
beautiful1 occasional1--or1 as one  has 

said1 culminating and perfect only a    
single moment1 before which  it is      
unripe1 and after which it is on the    
wane4 ,but beauty is never  quite absent
 from our eyes4 ,every face1 every      
figure1 suggests its own  right and     
sound estate4 ,our friends are not their
 own highest form4  ,but let the hearts 
they have agitated witness what power   
has lurked in  the traits of these      
structures of clay that pass and repass 
us6 ,the  secret power of form over the 
imagination and affections transcends   
all  our philosophy4 ,the first glance  
we meet may satisfy us that matter is   
the vehicle of higher powers than its   
own1 and that no laws of line  or       
surface can ever account for the        
inexhaustible expressiveness of  form4  
,we see heads that turn on the pivot of 
the spine1--no more2 and  we see heads  
that seem to turn on a pivot as deep as 
the axle of the  world1--so slow1 and   
lazily1 and great1 they move4 ,we see on
 the lip of  our companion the presence 

or absence of the great masters of      
thought  and poetry to his mind4 ,we    
read in his brow1 on meeting him after  
many  years1 that he is where we left   
him1 or that he has made great strides4 
,whilst thus nature and the hints we    
draw from man suggest a true and  lofty 
life1 a household equal to the beauty   
and grandeur of this world1  especially 
we learn the same lesson from those best
 relations to  individual men which the 
heart is always prompting us to form4   
,happy  will that house be in which the 
relations are formed from character1    
after the highest1 and not after the    
lowest order2 the house in which        
character marries1 and not confusion and
 a miscellany of unavowable  motives4   
,then shall marriage be a covenant to   
secure to either party  the sweetness   
and honor of being a calm1 continuing1  
inevitable  benefactor to the other4    
,yes1 and the sufficient reply to the   
sceptic  who doubts the competence of   
man to elevate and to be elevated is in 

that desire and power to stand in joyful
 and ennobling intercourse with         
individuals1 which makes the faith and  
the practice of all reasonable  men4    
,the ornament of a house is the friends 
who frequent it4 ,there is no  event    
greater in life than the appearance of  
new persons about our  hearth1 except it
 be the progress of the character which 
draws them4  ,it has been finely added  
by ,landor to his definition of the     
great  man1 8,it is he who can call     
together the most select company when it
  pleases him40 ,a verse of the old     
,greek ,menander remains1 which runs in 
translation3--      8,not on the store  
of sprightly wine1      ,nor plenty of  
delicious meats1    ,though generous    
,nature did design      ,to court us    
with perpetual treats1--    ',tis not on
 these we for content depend1    ,so    
much as on the shadow of a ,friend40    
,it is the happiness which1 where it is 
truly known1 postpones all other        
satisfactions1 and makes politics and   

commerce and churches cheap4 ,for  we   
figure to ourselves1--do we not8--that  
when men shall meet as they  should1 as 
states meet1--each a benefactor1 a      
shower of falling stars1  so rich with  
deeds1 with thoughts1 with so much      
accomplishment1--it  shall be the       
festival of nature1 which all things    
symbolize2 and  perhaps ,love is only   
the highest symbol of ,friendship1 as   
all other  things seem symbols of love4 
,in the progress of each man's          
character1  his relations to the best   
men1 which at first seem only the       
romances of  youth1 acquire a graver    
importance2 and he will have learned the
 lesson  of life who is skilful in the  
ethics of friendship4    ,beyond its    
primary ends of the conjugal1 parental1 
and amicable  relations1 the household  
should cherish the beautiful arts and   
the  sentiment of veneration4           
99       99       99       99       99  
#a4 ,whatever brings the dweller into a 
finer life1 what educates his  eye1 or  

ear1 or hand1 whatever purifies and     
enlarges him1 may well find  place      
there4 ,and yet let him not think that a
 property in beautiful  objects is      
necessary to his apprehension of them1  
and seek to turn  his house into a      
museum4 ,rather let the noble practice  
of the ,greeks  find place in our       
society1 and let the creations of the   
plastic arts  be collected with care in 
galleries by the piety and taste of the 
people1 and yielded as freely as the    
sunlight to all4 ,meantime1 be it       
remembered1 we are artists ourselves1   
and competitors1 each one1 with         
,phidias and ,raphael in the production 
of what is graceful or grand4 ,the      
fountain of beauty is the heart1 and    
every generous thought illustrates  the 
walls of your chamber4 ,why should we   
owe our power of attracting  our friends
 to pictures and vases1 to cameos and   
architecture8 ,why  should we convert   
ourselves into show-men and appendages  
to our fine  houses and our works of    

art8 ,if by love and nobleness we take  
up into  ourselves the beauty we admire1
 we shall spend it again on all around  
us4 ,the man1 the woman1 needs not the  
embellishment of canvas and  marble1    
whose every act is a subject for the    
sculptor1 and to whose eye  the gods and
 nymphs never appear ancient2 for they  
know by heart the  whole instinct of    
majesty4    ,i do not undervalue the    
fine instruction which statues and      
pictures  give4 ,but ,i think the public
 museum in each town will one day       
relieve  the private house of this      
charge of owning and exhibiting them4 ,i
  go to ,rome and see on the walls of   
the ,vatican the ,transfiguration1      
painted by ,raphael1 reckoned the first 
picture in the world2 or in the         
,sistine ,chapel ,i see the grand sibyls
 and prophets1 painted in fresco  by    
,michael ,angelo1--which have every day 
now for three hundred years  inflamed   
the imagination and exalted the piety of
 what vast multitudes  of men of all    

nations6 ,i wish to bring home to my    
children and my  friends copies of these
 admirable forms1 which ,i can find in  
the shops  of the engravers2 but ,i do  
not wish the vexation of owning them4 ,i
  wish to find in my own town a library 
and museum which is the property  of the
 town1 where ,i can deposit this        
precious treasure1 where ,i and  my     
children can see it from time to time1  
and where it has its proper  place among
 hundreds of such donations from other  
citizens who have  brought thither      
whatever articles they have judged to be
 in their  nature rather a public than a
 private property4    ,a collection of  
this kind1 the property of each town1   
would dignify the  town1 and we should  
love and respect our neighbors more4    
,obviously1 it  would be easy for every 
town to discharge this truly municipal  
duty4  ,every one of us would gladly    
contribute his share2 and the more      
gladly1  the more considerable the      
institution had become4           99    

99       99       99       99    #b4    
,certainly1 not aloof from this homage  
to beauty1 but in strict  connection    
therewith1 the house will come to be    
esteemed a ,sanctuary4  ,the language of
 a ruder age has given to common law the
 maxim that  every man's house is his   
castle3 the progress of truth will make 
every  house a shrine4 ,will not man one
 day open his eyes and see how dear  he 
is to the soul of ,nature1--how near it 
is to him8 ,will he not see1  through   
all he miscalls accident1 that ,law     
prevails for ever and ever2  that his   
private being is a part of it2 that its 
home is in his own  unsounded heart2    
that his economy1 his labor1 his good   
and bad fortune1  his health and        
manners1 are all a curious and exact    
demonstration in  miniature of the      
,genius of the ,eternal ,providence8    
,when he perceives  the ,law1 he ceases 
to despond4 ,whilst he sees it1 every   
thought and  act is raised1 and becomes 
an act of religion4 ,does the           

consecration  of ,sunday confess the    
desecration of the entire week8 ,does   
the  consecration of the church confess 
the profanation of the house8 ,let  us  
read the incantation backward4 ,let the 
man stand on his feet4 ,let  religion   
cease to be occasional2 and the pulses  
of thought that go to  the borders of   
the universe1 let them proceed from the 
bosom of the  ,household4    ,these are 
the consolations1--these are the ends to
 which the household  is instituted and 
the rooftree stands4 ,if these are      
sought1 and in any  good degree         
attained1 can the ,state1 can commerce1 
can climate1 can  the labor of many for 
one1 yield anything better1 or half as  
good8  ,beside these aims1 ,society is  
weak and the ,state an intrusion4 ,i    
think  that the heroism which at this   
day would make on us the impression  of 
,epaminondas and ,phocion must be that  
of a domestic conqueror4 ,he  who shall 
bravely and gracefully subdue this      
,gorgon of ,convention and  ,fashion1   

and show-men how to lead a clean1       
handsome1 and heroic life  amid the     
beggarly elements of our cities and     
villages2 whoso shall  teach me how to  
eat my meat and take my repose1 and deal
 with men1  without any shame following1
 will restore the life of man to        
splendor1  and make his own name dear to
 all history4          ,,farming4       
,,farming4      ,the glory of the farmer
 is that1 in the division of labors1 it 
is his  part to create4 ,all trade rests
 at last on his primitive activity4 ,he 
stands close to nature2 he obtains from 
the earth the bread and the  meat4 ,the 
food which was not1 he causes to be4    
,the first farmer was  the first man1   
and all historic nobility rests on      
possession and use  of land4 ,men do not
 like hard work1 but every man has an   
exceptional  respect for tillage1 and a 
feeling that this is the original       
calling of  his race1 that he himself is
 only excused from it by some           
circumstance  which made him delegate it

 for a time to other hands4 ,if he have 
not some skill which recommends him to  
the farmer1 some product for  which the 
farmer will give him corn1 he must      
himself return into his  due place among
 the planters4 ,and the profession has  
in all eyes its  ancient charm1 as      
standing nearest to ,god1 the first     
cause4    ,then the beauty of nature1   
the tranquillity and innocence of the   
countryman1 his independence1 and his   
pleasing arts1--the care of bees1  of   
poultry1 of sheep1 of cows1 the dairy1  
the care of hay1 of fruits1  of orchards
 and forests1 and the reaction of these 
on the workman1 in  giving him a        
strength and plain dignity1 like the    
face and manners  of nature1 all men    
acknowledge4 ,all men keep the farm in  
reserve as  an asylum where1 in case of 
mischance1 to hide their poverty1--or a 
solitude1 if they do not succeed in     
society4 ,and who knows how many        
glances of remorse are turned this way  
from the bankrupts of trade1  from      

mortified pleaders in courts and        
senates1 or from the victims  of        
idleness and pleasure8 ,poisoned by town
 life and town vices1 the  sufferer     
resolves3 #8,well1 my children1 whom ,i 
have injured1 shall go  back to the     
land1 to be recruited and cured by that 
which should have  been my nursery1 and 
now shall be their hospital4'    ,the   
farmer's office is precise and          
important1 but you must not try to      
paint him in rose-color2 you cannot make
 pretty compliments to fate and         
gravitation1 whose minister he is4 ,he  
represents the necessities4 ,it is  the 
beauty of the great economy of the world
 that makes his comeliness4  ,he bends  
to the order of the seasons1 the        
weather1 the soils and crops1  as the   
sails of a ship bend to the wind4 ,he   
represents continuous hard  labor1 year 
in1 year out1 and small gains4 ,he is a 
slow person1 timed  to nature1 and not  
to city watches4 ,he takes the pace of  
seasons1  plants1 and chemistry4 ,nature

 never hurries3 atom by atom1 little  by
 little1 she achieves her work4 ,the    
lesson one learns in fishing1  yachting1
 hunting1 or planting1 is the manners of
 ,nature2 patience  with the delays of  
wind and sun1 delays of the seasons1 bad
 weather1  excess or lack of            
water1--patience with the slowness of   
our feet1 with  the parsimony of our    
strength1 with the largeness of sea and 
land we  must traverse1 etc4 ,the farmer
 times himself to ,nature1 and acquires 
that livelong patience which belongs to 
her4 ,slow1 narrow man1 his rule  is1   
that the earth shall feed and clothe    
him2 and he must wait for his  crop to  
grow4 ,his entertainments1 his          
liberties1 and his spending must  be on 
a farmer's scale1 and not on a          
merchant's4 ,it were as false for       
farmers to use a wholesale and massy    
expense1 as for states to use a  minute 
economy4 ,but if thus pinched on one    
side1 he has compensatory  advantages4  
,he is permanent1 clings to his land as 

the rocks do4 ,in  the town where ,i    
live1 farms remain in the same families 
for seven and  eight generations2 and   
most of the first settlers 7in #afce71  
should  they reappear on the farms      
to-day1 would find their own blood and  
names  still in possession4 ,and the    
like fact holds in the surrounding      
towns4    ,this hard work will always be
 done by one kind of man2 not by        
scheming  speculators1 nor by soldiers1 
nor professors1 nor readers of          
,tennyson2  but by men of               
endurance1--deep-chested1 long-winded1  
tough1 slow and  sure1 and timely4 ,the 
farmer has a great health1 and the      
appetite of  health1 and means to his   
end3 he has broad lands for his home1   
wood  to burn great fires1 plenty of    
plain food2 his milk1 at least1 is      
unwatered2 and for sleep1 he has cheaper
 and better and more of it than         
citizens4    ,he has grave trusts       
confided to him4 ,in the great household
 of ,nature1  the farmer stands at the  

door of the bread-room1 and weighs to   
each  his loaf4 ,it is for him to say   
whether men shall marry or not4 ,early  
marriages and the number of births are  
indissolubly connected with  abundance  
of food2 or1 as ,burke said1 8,man      
breeds at the mouth40 ,then  he is the  
,board of ,quarantine4 ,the farmer is a 
hoarded capital of  health1 as the farm 
is the capital of wealth2 and it is from
 him that  the health and power1 moral  
and intellectual1 of the cities came4   
,the city is always recruited from the  
country4 ,the men in cities who  are the
 centres of energy1 the driving-wheels  
of trade1 politics1 or  practical arts1 
and the women of beauty and genius are  
the children or  grandchildren of       
farmers1 and are spending the energies  
which their  fathers' hardy1 silent life
 accumulated in frosty furrows1 in      
poverty1  necessity1 and darkness4      
,he is the continuous benefactor4 ,he   
who digs a well1 constructs a stone     
fountain1 plants a grove of trees by the

 roadside1 plants an orchard1  builds a 
durable house1 reclaims a swamp1 or so  
much as puts a stone  seat by the       
wayside1 makes the land so far lovely   
and desirable1 makes  a fortune which he
 cannot carry away with him1 but which  
is useful to  his country long          
afterwards4 ,the man that works at home 
helps society  at large with somewhat   
more of certainty than he who devotes   
himself to  charities4 ,if it be true   
that1 not by votes of political parties1
 but  by the eternal laws of political  
economy1 slaves are driven out of a     
slave ,state as fast as it is surrounded
 by free ,states1 then the true         
abolitionist is the farmer1 who1        
heedless of laws and constitutions1     
stands all day in the field1 investing  
his labor in the land1 and  making a    
product with which no forced labor can  
compete4    ,we commonly say that the   
rich man can speak the truth1 can afford
  honesty1 can afford independence of   
opinion and action2--and that is  the   

theory of nobility4 ,but it is the rich 
man in a true sense1 that is  to say1   
not the man of large income and large   
expenditure1 but solely  the man whose  
outlay is less than his income and is   
steadily kept so4    ,in ,english       
factories1 the boy that watches the     
loom1 to tie the thread  when the wheel 
stops to indicate that a thread is      
broken1 is called a  minder4 ,and in    
this great factory of our ,copernican   
globe1 shifting  its slides2 rotating   
its constellations1 times1 and tides2   
bringing  now the day of planting1 then 
of watering1 then of weeding1 then of   
reaping1 then of curing and             
storing1--the farmer is the minder4 ,his
  machine is of colossal                
proportions1--the diameter of the       
water-wheel1  the arms of the levers1   
the power of the battery1 are out of all
  mechanic measure2--and it takes him   
long to understand its parts and  its   
working4 ,this pump never 8sucks02 these
 screws are never loose2  this machine  

is never out of gear2 the vat and       
piston1 wheels and  tires1 never wear   
out1 but are self-repairing4    ,who are
 the farmer's servants8 ,not the ,irish1
 nor the coolies1 but  ,geology and     
,chemistry1 the quarry of the air1 the  
water of the brook1  the lightning of   
the cloud1 the castings of the worm1 the
 plough of the  frost4 ,long before he  
was born1 the sun of ages decomposed the
 rocks1  mellowed his land1 soaked it   
with light and heat1 covered it with    
vegetable film1 then with forests1 and  
accumulated the sphagnum whose  decays  
made the peat of his meadow4    ,science
 has shown the great circles in which   
nature works2 the manner  in which      
marine plants balance the marine        
animals1 as the land plants  supply the 
oxygen which the animals consume1 and   
the animals the carbon  which the plants
 absorb4 ,these activities are          
incessant4 ,nature works  on a method of
 all for each and each for all4 ,the    
strain that is made  on one point bears 

on every arch and foundation of the     
structure4 ,there  is a perfect         
solidarity4 ,you cannot detach an atom  
from its holdings1  or strip off from it
 the electricity1 gravitation1 chemic   
affinity1 or  the relation to light and 
heat1 and leave the atom bare4 ,no1 it  
brings  with it its universal ties4     
,nature1 like a cautious testator1 ties 
up her estate so as not to  bestow it   
all on one generation1 but has a        
forelooking tenderness and  equal regard
 to the next and the next1 and the      
fourth1 and the fortieth  age4    ,there
 lie the inexhaustible magazines4 ,the  
eternal rocks1 as we call  them1 have   
held their oxygen or lime undiminished1 
entire1 as it was4  ,no particle of     
oxygen can rust or wear1 but has the    
same energy as  on the first morning4   
,the good rocks1 those patient waiters1 
say to  him3 #8,we have the sacred power
 as we received it4 ,we have not failed 
of our trust1 and now--when in our      
immense day the hour is at last         

struck--take the gas we have hoarded2   
mingle it with water2 and let it  be    
free to grow in plants and animals1 and 
obey the thought of man4'    ,the earth 
works for him2 the earth is a machine   
which yields almost  gratuitous service 
to every application of intellect4      
,every plant is a  manufacturer of soil4
 ,in the stomach of the plant           
development begins4  ,the tree can draw 
on the whole air1 the whole earth1 on   
all the rolling  main4 ,the plant is all
 suction-pipe1--imbibing from the ground
 by its  root1 from the air by its      
leaves1 with all its might4    ,the air 
works for him4 ,the atmosphere1 a sharp 
solvent1 drinks the  essence and spirit 
of every solid on the globe1--a         
menstruum which  melts the mountains    
into it4 ,air is matter subdued by heat4
 ,as the sea  is the grand receptacle of
 all rivers1 so the air is the          
receptacle  from which all things       
spring1 and into which they all return4 
,the  invisible and creeping air takes  

form and solid mass4 ,our senses are    
sceptics1 and believe only the          
impression of the moment1 and do not    
believe the chemical fact that these    
huge mountain-chains are made up  of    
gases and rolling wind4 ,but ,nature is 
as subtle as she is strong4  ,she turns 
her capital day by day2 deals never with
 dead1 but ever  with quick subjects4   
,all things are flowing1 even those that
 seem  immovable4 ,the adamant is always
 passing into smoke4 ,the plants imbibe 
the materials which they want from the  
air and the ground4 ,they burn1  that   
is1 exhale and decompose their own      
bodies into the air and earth  again4   
,the animal burns1 or undergoes the like
 perpetual consumption4  ,the earth     
burns1--the mountains burn and          
decompose1--slower1 but  incessantly4   
,it is almost inevitable to push the    
generalization up into  higher parts of 
nature1 rank over rank into sentient    
beings4 ,nations  burn with internal    
fire of thought and affection1 which    

wastes while  it works4 ,we shall find  
finer combustion and finer fuel4        
,intellect is  a fire3 rash and pitiless
 it melts this wonderful bone-house     
which is  called man4 ,genius even1 as  
it is the greatest good1 is the greatest
  harm4 ,whilst all thus burns1--the    
universe in a blaze kindled from  the   
torch of the sun1--it needs a perpetual 
tempering1 a phlegm1 a  sleep1          
atmospheres of azote1 deluges of water1 
to check the fury of the  conflagration2
 a hoarding to check the spending2 a    
centripetence equal  to the             
centrifugence3 and this is invariably   
supplied4    ,the railroad dirt-cars are
 good excavators2 but there is no porter
  like ,gravitation1 who will bring down
 any weights which man cannot  carry1   
and if he wants aid1 knows where to find
 his fellow-laborers4  ,water works in  
masses1 and sets its irresistible       
shoulder to your mills  or your ships1  
or transports vast boulders of rock in  
its iceberg a  thousand miles4 ,but its 

far greater power depends on its talent 
of  becoming little1 and entering the   
smallest holes and pores4 ,by this      
agency1 carrying in solution elements   
needful to every plant1 the  vegetable  
world exists4    ,but as ,i said1 we    
must not paint the farmer in rose-color4
 ,whilst these  grand energies have     
wrought for him1 and made his task      
possible1 he is  habitually engaged in  
small economies1 and is taught the power
 that  lurks in petty things4 ,great is 
the force of a few simple arrangements2 
for instance1 the powers of a fence4 ,on
 the prairie you wander a  hundred      
miles1 and hardly find a stick or a     
stone4 ,at rare intervals1  a thin oak  
opening has been spared1 and every such 
section has been  long occupied4 ,but   
the farmer manages to procure wood from 
far1 puts  up a rail fence1 and at once 
the seeds sprout and the oaks rise4 ,it 
was only browsing and fire which had    
kept them down4 ,plant fruit-trees  by  
the roadside1 and their fruit will never

 be allowed to ripen4 ,draw  a pine     
fence about them1 and for fifty years   
they mature for the  owner their        
delicate fruit4 ,there is a great deal  
of enchantment in a  chestnut rail or   
picketed pine boards4    ,nature        
suggests every economical expedient     
somewhere on a great  scale4 ,set out a 
pine-tree1 and it dies in the first     
year1 or lives a  poor spindle4 ,but    
,nature drops a pine-cone in ,mariposa1 
and it lives  fifteen centuries1 grows  
three or four hundred feet high1 and    
thirty  in diameter1--grows in a grove  
of giants1 like a colonnade of ,thebes4 
,ask the tree how it was done4 ,it did  
not grow on a ridge1 but in a  basin1   
where it found deep soil1 cold enough   
and dry enough for the  pine2 defended  
itself from the sun by growing in       
groves1 and from the  wind by the walls 
of the mountain4 ,the roots that shot   
deepest1 and  the stems of happiest     
exposure1 drew the nourishment from the 
rest1  until the less thrifty perished  

and manured the soil for the stronger1  
and the mammoth ,sequoias rose to their 
enormous proportions4 ,the  traveller   
who saw them remembered his orchard at  
home1 where every  year1 in the         
destroying wind1 his forlorn trees pined
 like suffering  virtue4 ,in ,september1
 when the pears hang heaviest1 and are  
taking  from the sun their gay colors1  
comes usually a gusty day which shakes  
the whole garden1 and throws down the   
heaviest fruit in bruised  heaps4 ,the  
planter took the hint of the ,sequoias1 
built a high wall1                      
or--better--surrounded the orchard with 
a nursery of birches and  evergreens4   
,thus he had the mountain basin in      
miniature2 and his pears  grew to the   
size of melons1 and the vines beneath   
them ran an eighth of  a mile4 ,but this
 shelter creates a new climate4 ,the    
wall that keeps off  the strong wind    
keeps off the cold wind4 ,the high wall 
reflecting the  heat back on the soil   
gives that acre a quadruple share of    

sunshine1      8,enclosing in the garden
 square    ,a dead and standing pool of 
air10    and makes a little ,cuba within
 it1 whilst all without is ,labrador4   
,the chemist comes to his aid every year
 by following out some new hint  drawn  
from nature1 and now affirms that this  
dreary space occupied by  the farmer is 
needless3 he will concentrate his       
kitchen-garden into a  box of one or two
 rods square1 will take the roots into  
his laboratory2  the vines and stalks   
and stems may go sprawling about in the 
fields  outside1 he will attend to the  
roots in his tub1 gorge them with food  
that is good for them4 ,the smaller his 
garden1 the better he can feed  it1 and 
the larger the crop4 ,as he nursed his  
,thanksgiving turkeys on  bread and     
milk1 so he will pamper his peaches and 
grapes on the viands  they like best4   
,if they have an appetite for potash1 or
 salt1 or iron1  or ground bones1 or    
even now and then for a dead hog1 he    
will indulge  them4 ,they keep the      

secret well1 and never tell on your     
table whence  they drew their sunset    
complexion or their delicate flavors4   
,see what the farmer accomplishes by a  
cartload of tiles3 he alters  the       
climate by letting off water which kept 
the land cold through  constant         
evaporation1 and allows the warm rain to
 bring down into  the roots the         
temperature of the air and of the       
surface-soil2 and he  deepens the soil1 
since the discharge of this standing    
water allows  the roots of his plants to
 penetrate below the surface to the     
subsoil1  and accelerates the ripening  
of the crop4 ,the town of ,concord is   
one of the oldest towns in this country1
 far on now in its third  century4 ,the 
selectmen have once in every five years 
perambulated the  boundaries1 and yet1  
in this very year1 a large quantity of  
land has  been discovered and added to  
the town without a murmur of complaint  
from any quarter4 ,by drainage we went  
down to a subsoil we did not  know1 and 

have found there is a ,concord under old
 ,concord1 which we are  now getting the
 best crops from2 a ,middlesex under    
,middlesex2 and1 in  fine1 that         
,massachusetts has a basement story more
 valuable1 and that  promises to pay a  
better rent1 than all the               
superstructure4 ,but these  tiles have  
acquired by association a new interest4 
,these tiles are  political economists1 
confuters of ,malthus and ,ricardo2 they
 are so  many ,young ,americans         
announcing a better era1--more bread4   
,they drain  the land1 make it sweet and
 friable2 have made ,english ,chat ,moss
 a  garden1 and will now do as much for 
the ,dismal ,swamp4 ,but beyond this    
benefit1 they are the text of better    
opinions and better auguries for        
mankind4    ,there has been a nightmare 
bred in ,england of indigestion and     
spleen  among landlords and loomlords1  
namely1 the dogma that men breed too    
fast for the powers of the soil2 that   
men multiply in a geometrical  ratio1   

whilst corn only in an arithmetical2 and
 hence that1 the more  prosperous we    
are1 the faster we approach these       
frightful limits3 nay1  the plight of   
every new generation is worse than of   
the foregoing1  because the first comers
 take up the best lands2 the next1 the  
second  best2 and each succeeding wave  
of population is driven to poorer1 so   
that the land is ever yielding less     
returns to enlarging hosts of  eaters4  
,henry ,carey of ,philadelphia replied3 
#8,not so1 ,mr4 ,malthus1 but  just the 
opposite of so is the fact4'    ,the    
first planter1 the savage1 without      
helpers1 without tools1 looking  chiefly
 to safety from his enemy1--man or      
beast1--takes poor land4 ,the  better   
lands are loaded with timber1 which he  
cannot clear2 they need  drainage1 which
 he cannot attempt4 ,he cannot plough1  
or fell trees1 or  drain the rich swamp4
 ,he is a poor creature2 he scratches   
with a sharp  stick1 lives in a cave or 
a hutch1 has no road but the trail of   

the  moose or bear2 he lives on their   
flesh when he can kill one1 on roots    
and fruits when he cannot4 ,he falls1   
and is lame2 he coughs1 he has a  stitch
 in his side1 he has a fever and chills3
 when he is hungry1 he  cannot always   
kill and eat a bear2--chances of        
war1--sometimes the bear  eats him4     
',tis long before he digs or plants at  
all1 and then only a  patch4 ,later he  
learns that his planting is better than 
hunting2 that  the earth works faster   
for him than he can work for            
himself1--works  for him when he is     
asleep1 when it rains1 when heat        
overcomes him4 ,the  sun-stroke which   
knocks him down brings his corn up4 ,as 
his family  thrive1 and other planters  
come up around him1 he begins to fell   
trees1  and clear good land2 and when1  
by and by1 there is more skill1 and     
tools and roads1 the new generations are
 strong enough to open the  lowlands1   
where the wash of mountains has         
accumulated the best soil1  which yield 

a hundred-fold the former crops4 ,the   
last lands are the  best lands4 ,it     
needs science and great numbers to      
cultivate the best  lands1 and in the   
best manner4 ,thus true political       
economy is not  mean1 but liberal1 and  
on the pattern of the sun and sky4      
,population  increases in the ratio of  
morality3 credit exists in the ratio of 
morality4    ,meantime we cannot        
enumerate the incidents and agents of   
the farm  without reverting to their    
influence on the farmer4 ,he carries out
  this cumulative preparation of means  
to their last effect4 ,this crust  of   
soil which ages have refined he refines 
again for the feeding  of a civil and   
instructed people4 ,the great elements  
with which he  deals cannot leave him   
unaffected1 or unconscious of his       
ministry2  but their influence somewhat 
resembles that which the same ,nature   
has  on the child1--of subduing and     
silencing him4 ,we see the farmer with  
pleasure and respect1 when we think what

 powers and utilities are  so meekly    
worn4 ,he knows every secret of labor3  
he changes the face  of the landscape4  
,put him on a new planet1 and he would  
know where  to begin2 yet there is no   
arrogance in his bearing1 but a perfect 
gentleness4 ,the farmer stands well on  
the world4 ,plain in manners as  in     
dress1 he would not shine in palaces2 he
 is absolutely unknown and  inadmissible
 therein2 living or dying1 he never     
shall be heard of in  them2 yet the     
drawing-room heroes put down beside him 
would shrivel in  his presence1--he     
solid and unexpressive1 they expressed  
to gold-leaf4  ,but he stands well on   
the world1--as ,adam did1 as an ,indian 
does1 as  ,homer's heroes1 ,agamemnon or
 ,achilles1 do4 ,he is a person whom a  
poet  of any clime--,milton1 ,firdusi1  
or ,cervantes--would appreciate as being
  really a piece of the old ,nature1    
comparable to sun and moon1 rainbow  and
 flood2 because he is1 as all natural   
persons are1 representative of  ,nature 

as much as these4    ,that uncorrupted  
behavior which we admire in animals and 
in young  children belongs to him1 to   
the hunter1 the sailor1--the man who    
lives in the presence of ,nature4       
,cities force growth1 and make men      
talkative and entertaining1 but they    
make them artificial4 ,what  possesses  
interest for us is the naturel of each1 
his constitutional  excellence4 ,this is
 forever a surprise1 engaging and       
lovely2 we cannot  be satiated with     
knowing it1 and about it2 and it is this
 which the  conversation with ,nature   
cherishes and guards4          ,,works  
,,and ,,days4          ,,works ,,and    
,,days4      ,our nineteenth century is 
the age of tools4 ,they grow out of our 
structure4 8,man is the metre of all    
things10 said ,aristotle2 8the hand  is 
the instrument of instruments1 and the  
mind is the form of forms40  ,the human 
body is the magazine of inventions1 the 
patent-office1  where are the models    
from which every hint was taken4 ,all   

the tools  and engines on earth are only
 extensions of its limbs and senses4    
,one  definition of man is 8an          
intelligence served by organs40         
,machines can  only second1 not supply1 
his unaided senses4 ,the body is a      
metre4 ,the  eye appreciates finer      
differences than art can expose4 ,the   
apprentice  clings to his foot-rule1 a  
practised mechanic will measure by his  
thumb  and his arm with equal precision2
 and a good surveyor will pace sixteen  
rods more accurately than another man   
can measure them by tape4 ,the  sympathy
 of eye and hand by which an ,indian or 
a practised slinger hits  his mark with 
a stone1 or a wood-chopper or a         
carpenter swings his axe  to a hair-line
 on his log1 are examples2 and there is 
no sense or organ  which is not capable 
of exquisite performance4    ,men love  
to wonder1 and that is the seed of our  
science2 and such is  the mechanical    
determination of our age1 and so recent 
are our best  contrivances1 that use has

 not dulled our joy and pride in them2  
and  we pity our fathers for dying      
before steam and galvanism1 sulphuric   
ether and ocean telegraphs1 photograph  
and spectroscope arrived1 as  cheated   
out of half their human estate4 ,these  
arts open great gates of  a future1     
promising to make the world plastic and 
to lift human life  out of its beggary  
to a godlike ease and power4    ,our    
century1 to be sure1 had inherited a    
tolerable apparatus4 ,we had  the       
compass1 the printing-press1 watches1   
the spiral spring1 the  barometer1 the  
telescope4 ,yet so many inventions have 
been added1  that life seems almost made
 over new2 and as ,leibnitz said of     
,newton1  8that if he reckoned all that 
had been done by mathematicians from the
  beginning of the world down to        
,newton1 and what had been done by him1 
his would be the better half10 so one   
might say that the inventions  of the   
last fifty years counterpoise those of  
the fifty centuries  before them4 ,for  

the vast production and manifold        
application of iron  is new2 and our    
common and indispensable utensils of    
house and farm  are new2 the            
sewing-machine1 the power-loom1 the     
,mc,cormick reaper1  the                
mowing-machines1 gas-light1             
lucifer-matches1 and the immense        
productions of the laboratory1 are new  
in this century1 and one franc's  worth 
of coal does the work of a laborer for  
twenty days4    ,why need ,i speak of   
steam1 the enemy of space and time1 with
 its  enormous strength and delicate    
applicability1 which is made in         
hospitals to bring a bowl of gruel to a 
sick man's bed1 and can twist  beams of 
iron like candy-braids1 and vies with   
the forces which  upheaved and doubled  
over the geologic strata8 ,steam is an  
apt scholar  and a strong-shouldered    
fellow1 but it has not yet done all its 
work4  ,it already walks about the field
 like a man1 and will do anything       
required of it4 ,it irrigates crops1 and

 drags away a mountain4 ,it  must sew   
our shirts1 it must drive our gigs2     
taught by ,mr4 ,babbage1  it must       
calculate interest and logarithms4 ,lord
 ,chancellor ,thurlow  thought it might 
be made to draw bills and answers in    
chancery4 ,if  that were satire1 it is  
yet coming to render many higher        
services of  a mechanico-intellectual   
kind1 and will leave the satire short of
 the  fact4    ,how excellent are the   
mechanical aids we have applied to the  
human  body1 as in dentistry1 in        
vaccination1 in the rhinoplastic        
treatment2  in the beautiful aid of     
ether1 like a finer sleep2 and in the   
boldest  promiser of all1--the          
transfusion of the blood1--which1 in    
,paris1 it  was claimed1 enables a man  
to change his blood as often as his     
linen6    ,what of this dapper          
caoutchouc and gutta-percha1 which make 
water-pipes  and stomach-pumps1 belting 
for mill-wheels1 and diving bells1 and  
rain-proof coats for all climates1 which

 teach us to defy the wet1  and put     
every man on a footing with the beaver  
and the crocodile8  ,what of the grand  
tools with which we engineer1 like      
kobolds and  enchanters1--tunnelling    
,alps1 canalling the ,american ,isthmus1
 piercing  the ,arabian desert8 ,in     
,massachusetts1 we fight the sea        
successfully  with beach-grass and      
broom1--and the blowing sand-barrens    
with pine  plantations4 ,the soil of    
,holland1 once the most populous in     
,europe1  is below the level of the sea4
 ,egypt1 where no rain fell for three   
thousand years1 now1 it is said1 thanks 
,mehemet ,ali's irrigations and  planted
 forests for late-returning showers4    
,the old ,hebrew king said1  8,he makes 
the wrath of man to praise him40 ,and   
there is no argument of  theism better  
than the grandeur of ends brought about 
by paltry means4  ,the chain of western 
railroads from ,chicago to the ,pacific 
has planted  cities and civilization in 
less time than it costs to bring an     

orchard  into bearing4    ,what shall we
 say of the ocean telegraph1 that       
extension of the eye and  ear1 whose    
sudden performance astonished mankind as
 if the intellect  were taking the brute
 earth itself into training1 and        
shooting the  first thrills of life and 
thought through the unwilling brain8    
,there does not seem any limit to these 
new informations of the same  ,spirit   
that made the elements at first1 and    
now1 through man1 works  them4 ,art and 
power will go on as they have           
done1--will make day out  of night1 time
 out of space1 and space out of time4   
,invention breeds invention4 ,no sooner 
is the electric telegraph  devised1 than
 gutta-percha1 the very material it     
requires1 is found4  ,the aeronaut is   
provided with gun-cotton1 the very fuel 
he wants for  his balloon4 ,when        
commerce is vastly enlarged1 ,california
 and ,australia  expose the gold it     
needs4 ,when ,europe is over-populated1 
,america and  ,australia crave to be    

peopled2 and so1 throughout1 every      
chance is  timed1 as if ,nature1 who    
made the lock1 knew where to find the   
key4    ,another result of our arts is  
the new intercourse which is surprising 
us with new solutions of the            
embarrassing political problems4 ,the   
intercourse is not new1 but the scale is
 new4 ,our selfishness would  have held 
slaves1 or would have excluded from a   
quarter of the planet  all that are not 
born on the soil of that quarter4 ,our  
politics are  disgusting2 but what can  
they help or hinder when from time to   
time  the primal instincts are impressed
 on masses of mankind1 when the  nations
 are in exodus and flux8 ,nature loves  
to cross her stocks1--and  ,german1     
,chinese1 ,turk1 ,russ1 and ,kanaka were
 putting out to sea1 and  intermarrying 
race with race2 and commerce took the   
hint1 and ships  were built capacious   
enough to carry the people of a county4 
,this thousand-handed art has introduced
 a new element into the state4  ,the    

science of power is forced to remember  
the power of science4  ,civilization    
mounts and climbs4 ,malthus1 when he    
stated that the mouths  went on         
multiplying geometrically1 and the food 
only arithmetically1  forgot to say that
 the human mind was also a factor in    
political  economy1 and that the        
augmenting wants of society would be met
 by an  augmenting power of invention4  
,yes1 we have a pretty artillery of     
tools now in our social  arrangements3  
we ride four times as fast as our       
fathers did2 travel1  grind1 weave1     
forge1 plant1 till1 and excavate better4
 ,we have new  shoes1 gloves1 glasses1  
and gimlets2 we have the calculus2 we   
have the  newspaper1 which does its best
 to make every square acre of land and  
sea give an account of itself at your   
breakfast-table2 we have money1  and    
paper money2 we have language1--the     
finest tool of all1 and nearest  to the 
mind4 ,much will have more4 ,man        
flatters himself that his command  over 

nature must increase4 ,things begin to  
obey him4 ,we are to have the  balloon  
yet1 and the next war will be fought in 
the air4 ,we may yet  find a rose-water 
that will wash the negro white4 ,he sees
 the skull of  the ,english race        
changing from its ,saxon type under the 
exigencies of  ,american life4          
,tantalus1 who in old times was seen    
vainly trying to quench his thirst  with
 a flowing stream1 which ebbed whenever 
he approached it1 has been  seen again  
lately4 ,he is in ,paris1 in ,new ,york1
 in ,boston4 ,he is now in  great       
spirits2 thinks he shall reach it yet2  
thinks he shall bottle the  wave4 ,it   
is1 however1 getting a little doubtful4 
,things have an ugly  look still4 ,no   
matter how many centuries of culture    
have preceded1 the  new man always finds
 himself standing on the brink of chaos1
 always in  a crisis4 ,can anybody      
remember when the times were not hard1  
and money  not scarce8 ,can anybody     
remember when sensible men1 and the     

right sort  of men1 and the right sort  
of women1 were plentiful8 ,tantalus     
begins to  think steam a delusion1 and  
galvanism no better than it should be4  
,many facts concur to show that we must 
look deeper for our salvation  than to  
steam1 photographs1 balloons1 or        
astronomy4 ,these tools  have some      
questionable properties4 ,they are      
reagents4 ,machinery is  aggressive4    
,the weaver becomes a web1 the machinist
 a machine4 ,if  you do not use the     
tools1 they use you4 ,all tools are in  
one sense  edge-tools1 and dangerous4 ,a
 man builds a fine house2 and now he has
  a master1 and a task for life3 he is  
to furnish1 watch1 show it1 and  keep it
 in repair1 the rest of his days4 ,a man
 has a reputation1 and  is no longer    
free1 but must respect that4 ,a man     
makes a picture or  a book1 and1 if it  
succeeds1 'tis often the worse for him4 
,i saw a  brave man the other day1      
hitherto as free as the hawk or the fox 
of  the wilderness1 constructing his    

cabinet of drawers for shells1 eggs1    
minerals1 and mounted birds4 ,it was    
easy to see that he was amusing  himself
 with making pretty links for his own   
limbs4    ,then the political economist 
thinks 8'tis doubtful if all the        
mechanical inventions that ever existed 
have lightened the day's toil  of one   
human being40 ,the machine unmakes the  
man4 ,now that the machine  is so       
perfect1 the engineer is nobody4 ,every 
new step in improving the  engine       
restricts one more act of the           
engineer1--unteaches him4 ,once it  took
 ,archimedes2 now it only needs a       
fireman1 and a boy to know the  coppers1
 to pull up the handles or mind the     
water-tank4 ,but when the  engine       
breaks1 they can do nothing4    ,what   
sickening details in the daily journals6
 ,i believe they have  ceased to publish
 the 8,newgate ,calendar0 and the       
8,pirate's ,own ,book0  since the family
 newspapers1 namely1 the ,new ,york     
,tribune and the  ,london ,times1 have  

quite superseded them in the freshness1 
as well  as the horror1 of their records
 of crime4 ,politics were never more    
corrupt and brutal2 and ,trade1 that    
pride and darling of our ocean1  that   
educator of nations1 that benefactor in 
spite of itself1 ends in  shameful      
defaulting1 bubble1 and bankruptcy1 all 
over the world4    ,of course1 we resort
 to the enumeration of his arts and     
inventions as a  measure of the worth of
 man4 ,but if1 with all his arts1 he is 
a felon1  we cannot assume the          
mechanical skill or chemical resources  
as the  measure of worth4 ,let us try   
another gauge4    ,what have these arts 
done for the character1 for the worth of
 mankind8  ,are men better8 ',tis       
sometimes questioned whether morals have
 not  declined as the arts have         
ascended4 ,here are great arts and      
little men4  ,here is greatness begotten
 of paltriness4 ,we cannot trace the    
triumphs  of civilization to such       
benefactors as we wish4 ,the greatest   

meliorator  of the world is selfish1    
huckstering ,trade4 ,every victory over 
matter  ought to recommend to man the   
worth of his nature4 ,but now one       
wonders  who did all this good4 ,look up
 the inventors4 ,each has his own knack2
  his genius is in veins and spots4 ,but
 the great1 equal1 symmetrical  brain1  
fed from a great heart1 you shall not   
find4 ,every one has more  to hide than 
he has to show1 or is lamed by his      
excellence4 ',tis too  plain that with  
the material power the moral progress   
has not kept  pace4 ,it appears that we 
have not made a judicious investment4   
,works  and days were offered us1 and we
 took works4    ,the new study of the   
,sanskrit has shown us the origin of the
 old names  of ,god1--,dyaus1 ,deus1    
,zeus1 ,zeu pater1 ,jupiter1--names of  
the sun1  still recognizable through the
 modifications of our vernacular words1 
importing that the ,day is the ,divine  
,power and ,manifestation1 and          
indicating that those ancient men1 in   

their attempts to express the  ,supreme 
,power of the universe1 called him the  
,day1 and that this name  was accepted  
by all the tribes4    ,hesiod wrote a   
poem which he called 8,works and ,days10
 in which he  marked the changes of the 
,greek year1 instructing the husbandman 
at  the rising of what constellation he 
might safely sow1 when to reap1  when to
 gather wood1 when the sailor might     
launch his boat in security  from       
storms1 and what admonitions of the     
planets he must heed4 ,it is  full of   
economies for ,grecian life1 noting the 
proper age for marriage1  the rules of  
household thrift1 and of hospitality4   
,the poem is full of  piety as well as  
prudence1 and is adapted to all         
meridians1 by adding  the ethics of     
works and of days4 ,but he has not      
pushed his study of  days into such     
inquiry and analysis as they invite4    
,a farmer said 8he should like to have  
all the land that joined his  own40     
,bonaparte1 who had the same appetite1  

endeavored to make the  ,mediterranean a
 ,french lake4 ,czar ,alexander was more
 expansive1 and  wished to call the     
,pacific my ocean2 and the ,americans   
were obliged  to resist his attempts to 
make it a close sea4 ,but if he had the 
earth  for his pasture1 and the sea for 
his pond1 he would be a pauper still4   
,he only is rich who owns the day4      
,there is no king1 rich man1 fairy1  or 
demon who possesses such power as that4 
,the days are ever divine  as to the    
first ,aryans4 ,they are of the least   
pretension1 and of the  greatest        
capacity1 of anything that exists4 ,they
 come and go like  muffled and veiled   
figures1 sent from a distant friendly   
party2 but  they say nothing2 and if we 
do not use the gifts they bring1 they   
carry  them as silently away4    ,how   
the day fits itself to the mind1 winds  
itself round it like a fine  drapery1   
clothing all its fancies6 ,any holiday  
communicates to us its  color4 ,we wear 
its cockade and favors in our humor4    

,remember what  boys think in the       
morning of 8,election day10 of the      
,fourth of ,july1  of ,thanksgiving or  
,christmas4 ,the very stars in their    
courses wink  to them of nuts and cakes1
 bonbons1 presents1 and fireworks4      
,cannot  memory still descry the old    
school-house and its porch1 somewhat    
hacked  by jack-knives1 where you spun  
tops and snapped marbles2 and do you    
not recall that life was then calendared
 by moments1 threw itself  into nervous 
knots or glittering hours1 even as now1 
and not spread  itself abroad an equable
 felicity8 ,in college terms1 and in    
years  that followed1 the young         
graduate1 when the ,commencement        
anniversary  returned1 though he were in
 a swamp1 would see a festive light1 and
  find the air faintly echoing with     
plausive academic thunders4 ,in         
solitude and in the country1 what       
dignity distinguishes the holy time6    
,the old ,sabbath1 or ,seventh ,day1    
white with the religions of unknown     

thousands of years1 when this hallowed  
hour dawns out of the deep1--a  clean   
page1 which the wise may inscribe with  
truth1 whilst the savage  scrawls it    
with fetishes1--the cathedral music of  
history breathes  through it a psalm to 
our solitude4    ,so1 in the common     
experience of the scholar1 the weathers 
fit his  moods4 ,a thousand tunes the   
variable wind plays1 a thousand         
spectacles  it brings1 and each is the  
frame or dwelling of a new spirit4 ,i   
used  formerly to choose my time with   
some nicety for each favorite book4     
,one author is good for winter1 and one 
for the dog-days4 ,the scholar  must    
look long for the right hour for        
,plato's ,timus4 ,at last the elect     
morning arrives1 the early dawn1--a few 
lights conspicuous in the  heaven1 as of
 a world just created and still         
becoming1--and in its wide  leisures we 
dare open that book4    ,there are days 
when the great are near us1 when there  
is no frown on  their brow1 no          

condescension even2 when they take us by
 the hand1 and  we share their thought4 
,there are days which are the carnival  
of the  year4 ,the angels assume flesh1 
and repeatedly become visible4 ,the     
imagination of the gods is excited1 and 
rushes on every side into  forms4       
,yesterday not a bird peeped2 the world 
was barren1 peaked1  and pining3 to-day 
'tis inconceivably populous2 creation   
swarms and  meliorates4    ,the days are
 made on a loom whereof the warp and    
woof are past and  future time4 ,they   
are majestically dressed1 as if every   
god brought  a thread to the skyey web4 
',tis pitiful the things by which we are
  rich or poor1--a matter of coins1     
coats1 and carpets1 a little more  or   
less stone1 or wood1 or paint1 the      
fashion of a cloak or hat2 like  the    
luck of naked ,indians1 of whom one is  
proud in the possession of  a glass bead
 or a red feather1 and the rest         
miserable in the want  of it4 ,but the  
treasures which ,nature spent itself to 

amass1--the  secular1 refined1 composite
 anatomy of man1--which all strata go to
  form1 which the prior races1 from     
infusory and saurian1 existed to  ripen2
 the surrounding plastic natures2 the   
earth with its foods2 the  intellectual1
 temperamenting air2 the sea with its   
invitations2 the  heaven deep with      
worlds2 and the answering brain and     
nervous structure  replying to these2   
the eye that looketh into the deeps1    
which again  look back to the           
eye1--abyss to abyss2--these1 not like a
 glass bead1  or the coins or carpets1  
are given immeasurably to all4    ,this 
miracle is hurled into every beggar's   
hands4 ,the blue sky is a  covering for 
a market1 and for the cherubim and      
seraphim4 ,the sky  is the varnish or   
glory with which the ,artist has washed 
the whole  work1--the verge or confines 
of matter and spirit4 ,nature could no  
farther go4 ,could our happiest dream   
come to pass in solid fact1--could  a   
power open our eyes to behold 8millions 

of spiritual creatures walk  the        
earth10--,i believe ,i should find that 
mid-plain on which they  moved floored  
beneath and arched above with the same  
web of blue depth  which weaves itself  
over me now1 as ,i trudge the streets on
 my affairs4    ',tis singular that our 
rich ,english language should have no   
word to  denote the face of the world4  
,kinde was the old ,english term1 which1
  however1 filled only half the range of
 our fine ,latin word1 with its         
delicate future tense1--natura1 about to
 be born1 or what ,german  philosophy   
denotes as a becoming4 ,but nothing     
expresses that power  which seems to    
work for beauty alone4 ,the ,greek      
,kosmos did2 and  therefore1 with great 
propriety1 ,humboldt entitles his book1 
which  recounts the last results of     
science1 ,cosmos4    ,such are the      
days1--the earth is the cup1 the sky is 
the cover1 of the  immense bounty of    
nature which is offered us for our daily
 aliment2 but  what a force of illusion 

begins life with us1 and attends us to  
the  end6 ,we are coaxed1 flattered1 and
 duped1 from morn to eve1 from birth  to
 death2 and where is the old eye that   
ever saw through the deception8  ,the   
,hindoos represent ,maia1 the illusory  
energy of ,vishnu1 as one of  his       
principal attributes4 ,as if1 in this   
gale of warring elements1  which life   
is1 it was necessary to bind souls to   
human life as mariners  in a tempest    
lash themselves to the mast and bulwarks
 of a ship1 and  ,nature employed       
certain illusions as her ties and       
straps1--a rattle1  a doll1 an apple1   
for a child2 skates1 a river1 a boat1 a 
horse1 a  gun1 for the growing boy2--and
 ,i will not begin to name those of the 
youth and adult1 for they are           
numberless4 ,seldom and slowly the mask 
falls1 and the pupil is permitted to see
 that all is one stuff1 cooked  and     
painted under many counterfeit          
appearances4 ,hume's doctrine was  that 
the circumstances vary1 the amount of   

happiness does not2 that  the beggar    
cracking fleas in the sunshine under a  
hedge1 and the duke  rolling by in his  
chariot1 the girl equipped for her first
 ball1 and  the orator returning        
triumphant from the debate1 had         
different means1  but the same quantity 
of pleasant excitement4    ,this element
 of illusion lends all its force to hide
 the values of  present time4 ,who is he
 that does not always find himself doing
  something less than his best task8    
8,what are you doing80 8,o1 nothing2  ,i
 have been doing thus1 or ,i shall do so
 or so1 but now ,i am only--0  ,ah6 poor
 dupe1 will you never slip out of the   
web of the master  juggler1--never learn
 that1 as soon as the irrecoverable     
years have  woven their blue glory      
between to-day and us1 these passing    
hours shall  glitter and draw us1 as the
 wildest romance and the homes of beauty
 and  poetry8 ,how difficult to deal    
erect with them6 ,the events they bring1
  their trade1 entertainments1 and      

gossip1 their urgent work1 all throw    
dust in the eyes and distract attention4
 ,he is a strong man who can  look them 
in the eye1 see through this juggle1    
feel their identity1 and  keep his own2 
who can know surely that one will be    
like another to the  end of the world1  
nor permit love1 or death1 or politics1 
or money1  war1 or pleasure1 to draw him
 from his task4    ,the world is always 
equal to itself1 and every man in       
moments of deeper  thought is apprised  
that he is repeating the experiences of 
the people  in the streets of ,thebes or
 ,byzantium4 ,an everlasting ,now reigns
 in  nature1 which hangs the same roses 
on our bushes which charmed the  ,roman 
and the ,chaldan in their hanging       
gardens4 #8,to what end1 then1'  he     
asks1 #8should ,i study languages1 and  
traverse countries1 to learn so  simple 
truths8'    ,history of ancient art1    
excavated cities1 recovery of books and 
inscriptions1--yes1 the works were      
beautiful1 and the history worth        

knowing2 and academies convene to settle
 the claims of the old schools4  ,what  
journeys and measurements1--,niebuhr and
 ,mller and ,layard1--to  identify the  
plain of ,troy and ,nimroud town6 ,and  
your homage to ,dante  costs you so much
 sailing2 and to ascertain the          
discoverers of ,america  needs as much  
voyaging as the discovery cost4 ,poor   
child6 that flexile  clay of which these
 old brothers moulded their admirable   
symbols was  not ,persian1 nor          
,memphian1 nor ,teutonic1 nor local at  
all1 but was  common lime and silex and 
water1 and sunlight1 the heat of the    
blood1  and the heaving of the lungs2 it
 was that clay which thou heldest but   
now in thy foolish hands1 and threwest  
away to go and seek in vain in          
sepulchres1 mummy-pits1 and old         
book-shops of ,asia ,minor1 ,egypt1 and 
,england4 ,it was the deep to-day which 
all men scorn2 the rich poverty1  which 
men hate2 the populous1 all-loving      
solitude1 which men quit  for the tattle

 of towns4 ,,he lurks1 he hides1--he who
 is success1  reality1 joy1 and power4  
,one of the illusions is that the       
present hour  is not the critical1      
decisive hour4 ,write it on your heart  
that every  day is the best day in the  
year4 ,no man has learned anything      
rightly1  until he knows that every day 
is ,doomsday4 ',tis the old secret of   
the  gods that they come in low         
disguises4 ',tis the vulgar great who   
come  dizened with gold and jewels4     
,real kings hide away their crowns in   
their wardrobes1 and affect a plain and 
poor exterior4 ,in the ,norse  legend of
 our ancestors1 ,odin dwells in a       
fisher's hut1 and patches  a boat4 ,in  
the ,hindoo legends1 ,hari dwells a     
peasant among peasants4  ,in the ,greek 
legend1 ,apollo lodges with the         
shepherds of ,admetus2 and  ,jove liked 
to rusticate among the poor ,ethiopians4
 ,so1 in our history1  ,jesus is born in
 a barn1 and his twelve peers are       
fishermen4 ',tis the  very principle of 

science that ,nature shows herself best 
in leasts2  'twas the maxim of          
,aristotle and ,lucretius2 and1 in      
modern times1 of  ,swedenborg and of    
,hahnemann4 ,the order of changes in the
 egg determines  the age of fossil      
strata4 ,so it was the rule of our      
poets1 in the  legends of fairy lore1   
that the fairies largest in power were  
the least  in size4 ,in the ,christian  
graces1 humility stands highest of all1 
in  the form of the ,madonna2 and in    
life1 this is the secret of the wise4   
,we owe to genius always the same debt1 
of lifting the curtain from the  common1
 and showing us that divinities are     
sitting disguised in the  seeming gang  
of gypsies and pedlers4 ,in daily life1 
what distinguishes  the master is the   
using those materials he has1 instead of
 looking  about for what are more       
renowned1 or what others have used well4
 8,a  general10 said ,bonaparte1 8always
 has troops enough1 if he only knows    
how to employ those he has1 and bivouacs

 with them40 ,do not refuse  the        
employment which the hour brings you1   
for one more ambitious4 ,the  highest   
heaven of wisdom is alike near from     
every point1 and thou must  find it1 if 
at all1 by methods native to thyself    
alone4    ,that work is ever the more   
pleasant to the imagination which is not
 now  required4 ,how wistfully1 when we 
have promised to attend the working     
committee1 we look at the distant hills 
and their seductions6    ,the use of    
history is to give value to the present 
hour and its duty4  ,that is good which 
commends to me my country1 my climate1  
my means  and materials1 my associates4 
,i knew a man in a certain religious    
exaltation1 who 8thought it an honor to 
wash his own face40 ,he seemed  to me   
more sane than those who hold themselves
 cheap4    ,zologists may deny that     
horse-hairs in the water change to      
worms2 but  ,i find that whatever is old
 corrupts1 and the past turns to snakes4
 ,the  reverence for the deeds of our   

ancestors is a treacherous sentiment4   
,their merit was not to reverence the   
old1 but to honor the present  moment2  
and we falsely make them excuses of the 
very habit which they  hated and defied4
    ,another illusion is1 that there is 
not time enough for our work4 ,yet  we  
might reflect that though many creatures
 eat from one dish1 each1  according to 
its constitution1 assimilates from the  
elements what  belongs to it1 whether   
time1 or space1 or light1 or water1 or  
food4 ,a  snake converts whatever prey  
the meadow yields him into snake2 a fox1
  into fox2 and ,peter and ,john are    
working up all existence into ,peter    
and ,john4 ,a poor ,indian chief of the 
,six ,nations of ,new ,york made a      
wiser reply than any philosopher1 to    
some one complaining that he had  not   
enough time4 8,well10 said ,red ,jacket1
 8,i suppose you have all there  is40   
,a third illusion haunts us1 that a long
 duration1 as a year1 a decade1  a      
century1 is valuable4 ,but an old       

,french sentence says1 8,god works  in  
moments10--8,en peu d'heure ,dieu       
labeure40 ,we ask for long life1  but   
'tis deep life1 or grand moments1 that  
signify4 ,let the measure of  time be   
spiritual1 not mechanical4 ,life is     
unnecessarily long4 ,moments  of        
insight1 of fine personal relation1 a   
smile1 a glance1--what ample  borrowers 
of eternity they are6 ,life culminates  
and concentrates2 and  ,homer said1     
8,the gods ever give to mortals their   
apportioned share of  reason only on one
 day40    ,i am of the opinion of the   
poet ,wordsworth1 8that there is no real
  happiness in this life1 but in        
intellect and virtue40 ,i am of the     
opinion of ,pliny1 8that1 whilst we are 
musing on these things1 we are  adding  
to the length of our lives40 ,i am of   
the opinion of ,glauco1 who  said1 8,the
 measure of life1 ,o ,socrates1 is1 with
 the wise1 the speaking  and hearing    
such discourses as yours40    ,he only  
can enrich me who can recommend to me   

the space between sun  and sun4 ',tis   
the measure of a man1--his apprehension 
of a day4 ,for  we do not listen with   
the best regard to the verses of a man  
who is  only a poet1 nor to his         
problems1 if he is only an algebraist2  
but if  a man is at once acquainted with
 the geometric foundations of things    
and with their festal splendor1 his     
poetry is exact and his arithmetic      
musical4 ,and him ,i reckon the most    
learned scholar1 not who can unearth    
for me the buried dynasties of          
,sesostris and ,ptolemy1 the ,sothiac   
era1  the ,olympiads and consulships1   
but who can unfold the theory of this   
particular ,wednesday4 ,can he uncover  
the ligaments concealed from  all but   
piety1 which attach the dull men and    
things we know to the  ,first ,cause8   
,these passing fifteen minutes1 men     
think1 are time1 not  eternity2 are low 
and subaltern1 are but hope or memory1  
that is1 the  way to or the way from    
welfare1 but not welfare4 ,can he show  

their  tie8 ,that interpreter shall     
guide us from a menial and eleemosynary 
existence into riches and stability4 ,he
 dignifies the place where he  is4 ,this
 mendicant ,america1 this curious1      
peering1 itinerant1 imitative  ,america1
 studious of ,greece and ,rome1 of      
,england and ,germany1 will  take off   
its dusty shoes1 will take off its      
glazed traveller's-cap1  and sit at home
 with repose and deep joy on its face4  
,the world has no  such landscape1 the  
aeons of history no such hour1 the      
future no equal  second opportunity4    
,now let poets sing6 now let arts       
unfold6    ,one more view remains4 ,but 
life is good only when it is magical and
  musical1 a perfect timing and consent1
 and when we do not anatomize  it4 ,you 
must treat the days respectfully1 you   
must be a day yourself1  and not        
interrogate it like a college professor4
 ,the world is  enigmatical1--everything
 said1 and everything known or          
done1--and must  not be taken literally1

 but genially4 ,we must be at the top of
 our  condition to understand anything  
rightly4 ,you must hear the bird's  song
 without attempting to render it into   
nouns and verbs4 ,cannot we be  a little
 abstemious and obedient8 ,cannot we let
 the morning be8    ,everything in the  
universe goes by indirection4 ,there are
 no straight  lines4 ,i remember well   
the foreign scholar who made a week of  
my youth  happy by his visit4 8,the     
savages in the islands10 he said1       
8delight to  play with the surf1 coming 
in on the top of the rollers1 then      
swimming  out again1 and repeat the     
delicious manuvre for hours4 ,well1     
human  life is made up of such transits4
 ,there can be no greatness without     
abandonment4 ,but here your very        
astronomy is an espionage4 ,i dare not  
go out of doors and see the moon and    
stars1 but they seem to measure  my     
tasks1 to ask how many lines or pages   
are finished since ,i saw them  last4   
,not so1 as ,i told you1 was it in      

,belleisle4 ,the days at ,belleisle     
were all different1 and only joined by a
 perfect love of the same  object4 ,just
 to fill the hour1--that is happiness4  
,fill my hour1 ye  gods1 so that ,i     
shall not say1 whilst ,i have done this1
 #8,behold1 also1  an hour of my life is
 gone1'--but rather1 #8,i have lived an 
hour4'0    ,we do not want factitious   
men1 who can do any literary or         
professional  feat1 as1 to write poems1 
or advocate a cause1 or carry a measure1
 for  money2 or turn their ability      
indifferently in any particular         
direction  by the strong effort of will4
 ,no1 what has been best done in the    
world1--the works of genius1--cost      
nothing4 ,there is no painful effort1   
but it is the spontaneous flowing of the
 thought4 ,shakspeare made his  ,hamlet 
as a bird weaves its nest4 ,poems have  
been written between  sleeping and      
waking1 irresponsibly4 ,fancy defines   
herself3      8,forms that men spy      
,with the half-shut eye    ,in the beams

 of the setting sun1 am ,i40    ,the    
masters painted for joy1 and knew not   
that virtue had gone out  of them4 ,they
 could not paint the like in cold blood4
 ,the masters of  ,english lyric wrote  
their songs so4 ,it was a fine          
efflorescence of fine  powers2 as was   
said of the letters of the              
,frenchwomen1--8the charming  accident  
of their more charming existence40 ,then
 the poet is never the  poorer for his  
song4 ,a song is no song unless the     
circumstance is free  and fine4 ,if the 
singer sing from a sense of duty or from
 seeing no  way of escape1 ,i had rather
 have none4 ,those only can sleep who do
 not  care to sleep2 and those only     
write or speak best who do not too much 
respect the writing or the speaking4    
,the same rule holds in science4 ,the   
savant is often an amateur4 ,his        
performance is a memoir to the ,academy 
on fish-worms1 tadpoles1 or  spiders'   
legs2 he observes as other academicians 
observe2 he is  on stilts at a          

microscope1 and1--his memoir finished   
and read and  printed1--he retreats into
 his routinary existence1 which is quite
  separate from his scientific4 ,but in 
,newton1 science was as easy as         
breathing2 he used the same wit to weigh
 the moon that he used to  buckle his   
shoes2 and all his life was simple1     
wise1 and majestic4 ,so  was it in      
,archimedes1--always self-same1 like the
 sky4 ,in ,linnus1 in  ,franklin1 the   
like sweetness and equality1--no stilts1
 no tiptoe2--and  their results are     
wholesome and memorable to all men4     
,in stripping time of its illusions1 in 
seeking to find what is the  heart of   
the day1 we come to the quality of the  
moment1 and drop the  duration          
altogether4 ,it is the depth at which we
 live1 and not at all  the surface      
extension1 that imports4 ,we pierce to  
the eternity1 of  which time is the     
flitting surface2 and1 really1 the least
 acceleration  of thought1 and the least
 increase of power of thought1 make life

  to seem and to be of vast duration4   
,we call it time2 but when that         
acceleration and that deepening take    
effect1 it acquires another and a       
higher name4    ,there are people who do
 not need much experimenting2 who1 after
 years  of activity1 say1 we knew all   
this before2 who love at first sight    
and hate at first sight2 discern the    
affinities and repulsions2 who  do not  
care so much for conditions as others1  
for they are always in  one condition1  
and enjoy themselves2 who dictate to    
others1 and are  not dictated to2 who in
 their consciousness of deserving       
success  constantly slight the ordinary 
means of attaining it2 who have         
self-existence and self-help2 who are   
suffered to be themselves in  society2  
who are great in the present2 who have  
no talents1 or care not  to have        
them1--being that which was before      
talent1 and shall be after  it1 and of  
which talent seems only a tool2--this is
 character1 the  highest name at which  

philosophy has arrived4    ',tis not    
important how the hero does this or     
this1 but what he is4 ,what  he is will 
appear in every gesture and syllable4   
,in this way the moment  and the        
character are one4    ',tis a fine fable
 for the advantage of character over    
talent1 the ,greek  legend of the strife
 of ,jove and ,phbus4 ,phbus challenged 
the gods1  and said1 8,who will outshoot
 the far-darting ,apollo80 ,zeus said1  
8,i  will40 ,mars shook the lots in his 
helmet1 and that of ,apollo leaped out  
first4 ,apollo stretched his bow and    
shot his arrow into the extreme  west4  
,then ,zeus arose1 and with one stride  
cleared the whole distance1  and said1  
8,where shall ,i shoot8 there is no     
space left40 ,so the  bowman's prize was
 adjudged to him who drew no bow4       
,and this is the progress of every      
earnest mind2 from the works of man  and
 the activity of the hands to a delight 
in the faculties which rule  them2 from 
a respect to the works to a wise wonder 

at this mystic  element of time in which
 he is conditioned2 from local skills   
and the  economy which reckons the      
amount of production per hour to the    
finer  economy which respects the       
quality of what is done1 and the right  
we  have to the work1 or the fidelity   
with which it flows from ourselves2     
then to the depth of thought it betrays1
 looking to its universality1  or1 that 
its roots are in eternity1 not in time4 
,then it flows from  character1 that    
sublime health which values one moment  
as another1 and  makes us great in all  
conditions1 and is the only definition  
we have of  freedom and power4          
,,books4          ,,books4      ,it is  
easy to accuse books1 and bad ones are  
easily found2 and the best  are but     
records1 and not the things recorded2   
and certainly there is  dilettanteism   
enough1 and books that are merely       
neutral and do nothing  for us4 ,in     
,plato's 8,gorgias10 ,socrates says3    
8,the shipmaster walks in  a modest garb

 near the sea1 after bringing his       
passengers from gina  or from ,pontus1  
not thinking he has done anything       
extraordinary1 and  certainly knowing   
that his passengers are the same1 and in
 no respect  better than when he took   
them on board40 ,so is it with books1   
for  the most part3 they work no        
redemption in us4 ,the bookseller might 
certainly know that his customers are in
 no respect better for the  purchase and
 consumption of his wares4 ,the volume  
is dear at a dollar1  and1 after reading
 to weariness the lettered backs1 we    
leave the shop  with a sigh1 and learn1 
as ,i did1 without surprise1 of a surly 
bank  director1 that in bank parlors    
they estimate all stocks of this kind as
  rubbish4    ,but it is not less true  
that there are books which are of that  
importance in a man's private           
experience1 as to verify for him the    
fables of ,cornelius ,agrippa1 of       
,michael ,scott1 or of the old ,orpheus 
of  ,thrace1--books which take rank in  

our life with parents and lovers and    
passionate experiences1 so medicinal1 so
 stringent1 so revolutionary1  so       
authoritative1--books which are the work
 and the proof of faculties  so         
comprehensive1 so nearly equal to the   
world which they paint1 that1  though   
one shuts them with meaner ones1 he     
feels his exclusion from  them to accuse
 his way of living4    ,consider what   
you have in the smallest chosen library4
 ,a company of  the wisest and wittiest 
men that could be picked out of all     
civil  countries1 in a thousand years1  
have set in best order the results  of  
their learning and wisdom4 ,the men     
themselves were hid and  inaccessible1  
solitary1 impatient of interruption1    
fenced by etiquette2  but the thought   
which they did not uncover to their     
bosom friend is  here written out in    
transparent words to us1 the strangers  
of another  age4    ,we owe to books    
those general benefits which come from  
high  intellectual action4 ,thus1 ,i    

think1 we often owe to them the         
perception  of immortality4 ,they impart
 sympathetic activity to the moral      
power4  ,go with mean people1 and you   
think life is mean4 ,then read          
,plutarch1  and the world is a proud    
place1 peopled with men of positive     
quality1  with heroes and demigods      
standing around us1 who will not let us 
sleep4  ,then1 they address the         
imagination3 only poetry inspires       
poetry4  ,they become the organic       
culture of the time4 ,college education 
is the  reading of certain books which  
the common sense of all scholars agrees 
will represent the science already      
accumulated4 ,if you know that1--for    
instance in geometry1 if you have read  
,euclid and ,laplace1--your  opinion has
 some value2 if you do not know these1  
you are not entitled  to give any       
opinion on the subject4 ,whenever any   
sceptic or bigot  claims to be heard on 
the questions of intellect and morals1  
we ask if  he is familiar with the books

 of ,plato1 where all his pert          
objections  have once for all been      
disposed of4 ,if not1 he has no right to
 our  time4 ,let him go and find himself
 answered there4    ,meantime the       
colleges1 whilst they provide us with   
libraries1 furnish  no professor of     
books2 and1 ,i think1 no chair is so    
much wanted4 ,in a  library we are      
surrounded by many hundreds of dear     
friends1 but they  are imprisoned by an 
enchanter in these paper and leathern   
boxes2  and though they know us1 and    
have been waiting two1 ten1 or twenty   
centuries for us1--some of them1--and   
are eager to give us a sign1 and        
unbosom themselves1 it is the law of    
their limbo that they must not  speak   
until spoken to2 and as the enchanter   
has dressed them1 like  battalions of   
infantry1 in coat and jacket of one cut1
 by the thousand  and ten thousand1 your
 chance of hitting on the right one is  
to be  computed by the arithmetical rule
 of ,permutation and ,combination1--not 

a choice out of three caskets1 but out  
of half a million caskets all  alike4   
,but it happens in our experience1 that 
in this lottery there  are at least     
fifty or a hundred blanks to a prize4   
,it seems1 then1  as if some charitable 
soul1 after losing a great deal of time 
among  the false books1 and alighting   
upon a few true ones which made him     
happy and wise1 would do a right act in 
naming those which have been  bridges or
 ships to carry him safely over dark    
morasses and barren  oceans1 into the   
heart of sacred cities1 into palaces and
 temples4  ,this would be best done by  
those great masters of books who from   
time  to time appear1--the ,fabricii1   
the ,seldens1 ,magliabecchis1           
,scaligers1  ,mirandolas1 ,bayles1      
,johnsons1 whose eyes sweep the whole   
horizon of  learning4 ,but private      
readers1 reading purely for love of the 
book1  would serve us by leaving each   
the shortest note of what he found4     
,there are books2 and it is practicable 

to read them1 because they are  so few4 
,we look over with a sigh the monumental
 libraries of ,paris1 of  the ,vatican1 
and the ,british ,museum4 ,in #aheh1 the
 number of printed  books in the        
,imperial ,library at ,paris was        
estimated at eight hundred  thousand    
volumes1 with an annual increase of     
twelve thousand volumes2  so that the   
number of printed books extant to-day   
may easily exceed  a million4 ,it is    
easy to count the number of pages which 
a diligent  man can read in a day1 and  
the number of years which human life in 
favorable circumstances allows to       
reading2 and to demonstrate1 that1      
though he should read from dawn till    
dark1 for sixty years1 he must  die in  
the first alcoves4 ,but nothing can be  
more deceptive than this  arithmetic1   
where none but a natural method is      
really pertinent4 ,i  visit occasionally
 the ,cambridge ,library1 and ,i can    
seldom go there  without renewing the   
conviction that the best of it all is   

already  within the four walls of my    
study at home4 ,the inspection of the   
catalogue brings me continually back to 
the few standard writers who  are on    
every private shelf2 and to these it can
 afford only the most  slight and casual
 additions4 ,the crowds and centuries of
 books are only  commentary and         
elucidation1 echoes and weakeners of    
these few great  voices of ,time4       
,the best rule of reading will be a     
method from nature1 and not a           
mechanical one of hours and pages4 ,it  
holds each student to a pursuit  of his 
native aim1 instead of a desultory      
miscellany4 ,let him read what  is      
proper to him1 and not waste his memory 
on a crowd of mediocrities4  ,as whole  
nations have derived their culture from 
a single book1--as the  ,bible has been 
the literature as well as the religion  
of large portions  of ,europe1--as      
,hafiz was the eminent genius of the    
,persians1 ,confucius  of the ,chinese1 
,cervantes of the ,spaniards2 so1       

perhaps1 the human mind  would be a     
gainer1 if all the secondary writers    
were lost1--say1 in  ,england1 all but  
,shakspeare1 ,milton1 and               
,bacon1--through the profounder  study  
so drawn to those wonderful minds4 ,with
 this pilot of his own  genius1 let the 
student read one1 or let him read many1 
he will read  advantageously4 ,dr4      
,johnson said3 8,whilst you stand       
deliberating  which book your son shall 
read first1 another boy has read both3  
read  anything five hours a day1 and you
 will soon be learned40    ,nature is   
much our friend in this matter4 ,nature 
is always clarifying  her water and her 
wine4 ,no filtration can be so perfect4 
,she does the  same thing by books as by
 her gases and plants4 ,there is always 
a  selection in writers1 and then a     
selection from the selection4 ,in the   
first place1 all books that get fairly  
into the vital air of the world  were   
written by the successful class1 by the 
affirming and advancing  class1 who     

utter what tens of thousands feel though
 they cannot say4  ,there has already   
been a scrutiny and choice from many    
hundreds of  young pens1 before the     
pamphlet or political chapter which you 
read in  a fugitive journal comes to    
your eye4 ,all these are young          
adventurers1  who produce their         
performance to the wise ear of ,time1   
who sits and  weighs1 and1 ten years    
hence1 out of a million of pages        
reprints  one4 ,again it is judged1 it  
is winnowed by all the winds of opinion1
  and what terrific selection has not   
passed on it before it can be  reprinted
 after twenty years1--and reprinted     
after a century6--it is as  if ,minos   
and ,rhadamanthus had indorsed the      
writing4 ',tis therefore an  economy of 
time to read old and famed books4       
,nothing can be preserved  which is not 
good2 and ,i know beforehand that       
,pindar1 ,martial1 ,terence1  ,galen1   
,kepler1 ,galileo1 ,bacon1 ,erasmus1    
,more1 will be superior to the  average 

intellect4 ,in contemporaries1 it is not
 so easy to distinguish  betwixt        
notoriety and fame4    ,be sure1 then1  
to read no mean books4 ,shun the spawn  
of the press on  the gossip of the hour4
 ,do not read what you shall learn1     
without  asking1 in the street and the  
train4 ,dr4 ,johnson said1 8he always   
went  into stately shops02 and good     
travellers stop at the best hotels2 for1
  though they cost more1 they do not    
cost much more1 and there is the  good  
company and the best information4 ,in   
like manner1 the scholar  knows that the
 famed books contain1 first and last1   
the best thoughts  and facts4 ,now and  
then1 by rarest luck1 in some foolish   
,grub ,street  is the gem we want4 ,but 
in the best circles is the best         
information4  ,if you should transfer   
the amount of your reading day by day   
from the  newspaper to the standard     
authors---- ,but who dare speak of such 
a  thing8    ,the three practical rules1
 then1 which ,i have to offer1 are1--#a4

 ,never  read any book that is not a    
year old4 #b4 ,never read any but famed 
books4 #c4 ,never read any but what you 
like2 or1 in ,shakspeare's phrase       
8,no profit goes where is no pleasure   
ta'en3    ,in brief1 sir1 study what you
 most affect40    ,montaigne says1      
8,books are a languid pleasure02 but ,i 
find certain  books vital and spermatic1
 not leaving the reader what he was3 he 
shuts  the book a richer man4 ,i would  
never willingly read any others than    
such4 ,and ,i will venture1 at the risk 
of inditing a list of old primers  and  
grammars1 to count the few books which a
 superficial reader must  thankfully    
use4    ,of the old ,greek books1 ,i    
think there are five which we cannot    
spare3  #a4 ,homer1 who in spite of     
,pope and all the learned uproar of     
centuries1  has really the true fire1   
and is good for simple minds1 is the    
true  and adequate germ of ,greece1 and 
occupies that place as history1  which  
nothing can supply4 ,it holds through   

all literature1 that our  best history  
is still poetry4 ,it is so in ,hebrew1  
in ,sanskrit1 and  in ,greek4 ,english  
history is best known through           
,shakspeare2 how much  through ,merlin1 
,robin ,hood1 and the ,scottish         
ballads6--the ,german1  through the     
,nibelungenlied2--the ,spanish1 through 
the ,cid4 ,of ,homer1  ,george          
,chapman's is the heroic translation1   
though the most literal  prose version  
is the best of all4 #b4 ,herodotus1     
whose history contains  inestimable     
anecdotes1 which brought it with the    
learned into a sort  of disesteem2 but  
in these days1 when it is found that    
what is most  memorable of history is a 
few anecdotes1 and that we need not be  
alarmed though we should find it not    
dull1 it is regaining credit4  #c4      
schylus1 the grandest of the three      
tragedians1 who has given us  under a   
thin veil the first plantation of       
,europe4 ,the 8,prometheus0  is a poem  
of the like dignity and scope as the    

,book of ,job1 or the  ,norse ,edda4 #d4
 ,of ,plato ,i hesitate to speak1 lest  
there should be no  end4 ,you find in   
him that which you have already found in
 ,homer1 now  ripened to thought1--the  
poet converted to a philosopher1 with   
loftier  strains of musical wisdom than 
,homer reached2 as if ,homer were the   
youth1 and ,plato the finished man2 yet 
with no less security of bold  and      
perfect song1 when he cares to use it1  
and with some harp-strings  fetched from
 a higher heaven4 ,he contains the      
future1 as he came out  of the past4 ,in
 ,plato1 you explore modern ,europe in  
its causes and  seed1--all that in      
thought1 which the history of ,europe   
embodies or  has yet to embody4 ,the    
well-informed man finds himself         
anticipated4  ,plato is up with him too4
 ,nothing has escaped him4 ,every new   
crop  in the fertile harvest of reform1 
every fresh suggestion of modern        
humanity1 is there4 ,if the student wish
 to see both sides1 and justice  done to

 the man of the world1 pitiless exposure
 of pedants1 and the  supremacy of truth
 and the religious sentiment1 he shall  
be contented  also4 ,why should not     
young men be educated on this book8 ,it 
would  suffice for the tuition of the   
race1--to test their understanding1  and
 to express their reason4 ,here is that 
which is so attractive to  all men1--the
 literature of aristocracy shall ,i call
 it8--the picture  of the best persons1 
sentiments1 and manners1 by the first   
master1 in  the best times1--portraits  
of ,pericles1 ,alcibiades1 ,crito1      
,prodicus1  ,protagoras1 ,anaxagoras1   
and ,socrates1 with the lovely          
background of  the ,athenian and        
suburban landscape4 ,or who can         
overestimate the  images with which     
,plato has enriched the minds of men1   
and which pass  like bullion in the     
currency of all nations8 ,read the      
8,phdo10 the  8,protagoras10 the        
8,phdrus10 the 8,timus10 the            
8,republic10 and the  8,apology of      

,socrates40 #e4 ,plutarch cannot be     
spared from the smallest  library2      
first1 because he is so readable1 which 
is much2 then1 that he  is medicinal and
 invigorating4 ,the lives of ,cimon1    
,lycurgus1 ,alexander1  ,demosthenes1   
,phocion1 ,marcellus1 and the rest1 are 
what history has of  best4 ,but this    
book has taken care of itself1 and the  
opinion of the  world is expressed in   
the innumerable cheap editions1 which   
make it  as accessible as a newspaper4  
,but ,plutarch's 8,morals0 is less      
known1  and seldom reprinted4 ,yet such 
a reader as ,i am writing to can as ill 
spare it as the 8,lives40 ,he will read 
in it the essays 8,on the ,dmon  of     
,socrates10 8,on ,isis and ,osiris10    
8,on ,progress in ,virtue10 8,on        
,garrulity10 8,on ,love10 and thank anew
 the art of printing1 and the  cheerful 
domain of ancient thinking4 ,plutarch   
charms by the facility  of his          
associations2 so that it signifies      
little where you open  his book1 you    

find yourself at the ,olympian tables4  
,his memory is  like the ,isthmian      
,games1 where all that was excellent in 
,greece was  assembled1 and you are     
stimulated and recruited by lyric       
verses1 by  philosophic sentiments1 by  
the forms and behavior of heroes1 by the
  worship of the gods1 and by the       
passing of fillets1 parsley and laurel  
wreaths1 chariots1 armor1 sacred cups1  
and utensils of sacrifice4 ,an          
inestimable trilogy of ancient social   
pictures are the three 8,banquets0      
respectively of ,plato1 ,xenophon1 and  
,plutarch4 ,plutarch's has the least    
approach to historical accuracy2 but the
 meeting of the ,seven ,wise  ,masters  
is a charming portraiture of ancient    
manners and discourse1 and  is as clear 
as the voice of a fife1 and entertaining
 as a ,french novel4  ,xenophon's       
delineation of ,athenian manners is an  
accessory to ,plato1  and supplies      
traits of ,socrates2 whilst ,plato's has
 merits of every  kind1--being a        

repertory of the wisdom of the ancients 
on the subject  of love1--a picture of a
 feast of wits1 not less descriptive    
than  ,aristophanes1--and1 lastly1      
containing that ironical eulogy of      
,socrates  which is the source from     
which all the portraits of that         
philosopher  current in ,europe have    
been drawn4    ,of course a certain     
outline should be obtained of ,greek    
history1 in  which the important moments
 and persons can be rightly set down2   
but  the shortest is the best1 and if   
one lacks stomach for ,mr4 ,grote's     
voluminous annals1 the old slight and   
popular summary of ,goldsmith or  of    
,gillies will serve4 ,the valuable part 
is the age of ,pericles and the  next   
generation4 ,and here we must read the  
8,clouds0 of ,aristophanes1  and what   
more of that master we gain appetite    
for1 to learn our way  in the streets of
 ,athens1 and to know the tyranny of    
,aristophanes1  requiring more genius   
and sometimes not less cruelty than     

belonged to  the official commanders4   
,aristophanes is now very accessible1   
with much  valuable commentary1 through 
the labors of ,mitchell and ,cartwright4
 ,an  excellent popular book is ,j4 ,a4 
,st4 ,john's 8,ancient ,greece02 the    
8,life  and ,letters0 of ,niebuhr1 even 
more than his ,lectures1 furnish leading
  views2 and ,winckelmann1 a ,greek born
 out of due time1 has become  essential 
to an intimate knowledge of the ,attic  
genius4 ,the secret of  the recent      
histories in ,german and in ,english is 
the discovery1 owed  first to ,wolff1   
and later to ,boeckh1 that the sincere  
,greek history  of that period must be  
drawn from ,demosthenes1 especially from
 the  business orations1 and from the   
comic poets4    ,if we come down a      
little by natural steps from the master 
to the  disciples1 we have1 six or seven
 centuries later1 the ,platonists1--who 
also cannot be skipped1--,plotinus1     
,porphyry1 ,proclus1 ,synesius1         
,jamblichus4 ,of ,jamblichus the        

,emperor ,julian said1 8that he was     
posterior to ,plato in time1 not in     
genius40 ,of ,plotinus1 we  have        
eulogies by ,porphyry and ,longinus1 and
 the favor of the  ,emperor             
,gallienus1--indicating the respect he  
inspired among his  contemporaries4 ,if 
any one who had read with interest the  
8,isis and  ,osiris0 of ,plutarch should
 then read a chapter called             
8,providence10 by  ,synesius1 translated
 into ,english by ,thomas ,taylor1 he   
will find it one  of the majestic       
remains of literature1 and1 like one    
walking in the  noblest of temples1 will
 conceive new gratitude to his          
fellow-men1 and  a new estimate of their
 nobility4 ,the imaginative scholar will
 find  few stimulants to his brain like 
these writers4 ,he has entered the      
,elysian ,fields2 and the grand and     
pleasing figures of gods and dmons  and 
dmoniacal men1 of the 8azonic0 and the  
8aquatic gods10 dmons  with fulgid eyes1
 and all the rest of the ,platonic      

rhetoric1 exalted  a little under the   
,african sun1 sail before his eyes4 ,the
 acolyte has  mounted the tripod over   
the cave at ,delphi2 his heart dances1  
his  sight is quickened4 ,these guides  
speak of the gods with such depth and   
with such pictorial details1 as if they 
had been bodily present at the          
,olympian feasts4 ,the reader of these  
books makes new acquaintance with  his  
own mind2 new regions of thought are    
opened4 ,jamblichus's 8,life  of        
,pythagoras0 works more directly on the 
will than the others2 since  ,pythagoras
 was eminently a practical person1 the  
founder of a school  of ascetics and    
socialists1 a planter of colonies1 and  
nowise a man of  abstract studies alone4
    ,the respectable and sometimes      
excellent translations of ,bohn's       
,library  have done for literature what 
railroads have done for internal        
intercourse4 ,i do not hesitate to read 
all the books ,i have named1  and all   
good books1 in translations4 ,what is   

really best in any book  is             
translatable1--any real insight or broad
 human sentiment4 ,nay1  ,i observe     
that1 in our ,bible1 and other books of 
lofty moral tone1  it seems easy and    
inevitable to render the rhythm and     
music of the  original into phrases of  
equal melody4 ,the ,italians have a     
fling at  translators1--i traditori     
traduttori2 but ,i thank them4 ,i rarely
 read  any ,latin1 ,greek1 ,german1     
,italian1 sometimes not a ,french book  
in the  original1 which ,i can procure  
in a good version4 ,i like to be        
beholden  to the great metropolitan     
,english speech1 the sea which receives 
tributaries from every region under     
heaven4 ,i should as soon think  of     
swimming across ,charles ,river when ,i 
wish to go to ,boston1 as of  reading   
all my books in originals1 when ,i have 
them rendered for me in  my             
mother-tongue4    ,for history there is 
great choice of ways to bring the       
student through  early ,rome4 ,if he can

 read ,livy1 he has a good book2 but one
 of the  short ,english compends1 some  
,goldsmith or ,ferguson1 should be used1
  that will place in the cycle the      
bright stars of ,plutarch4 ,the  poet   
,horace is the eye of the ,augustan age2
 ,tacitus1 the wisest of  historians2   
and ,martial will give him ,roman       
manners1--and some very  bad ones1--in  
the early days of the ,empire3 but      
,martial must be read1  if read at all1 
in his own tongue4 ,these will bring him
 to ,gibbon1 who  will take him in      
charge1 and convey him with abundant    
entertainment  down--with notice of all 
remarkable objects on the way--through  
fourteen hundred years of time4 ,he     
cannot spare ,gibbon1 with his vast     
reading1--with such wit and continuity  
of mind1 that1 though never  profound1  
his book is one of the conveniences of  
civilization1 like  the new railroad    
from ocean to ocean1--and1 ,i think1    
will be sure to  send the reader to his 
8,memoirs of ,himself10 and the         

8,extracts from my  ,journal10 and      
8,abstracts of my ,readings10 which will
 spur the laziest  scholar to emulation 
of his prodigious performance4    ,now  
having our idler safe down as far as the
 fall of ,constantinople in  #adec1 he  
is in very good courses2 for here are   
trusty hands waiting for  him4 ,the     
cardinal facts of ,european history are 
soon learned4 ,there  is ,dante's poem1 
to open the ,italian ,republics of the  
,middle ,age2  ,dante's 8,vita ,nuova10 
to explain ,dante and ,beatrice2 and    
,boccaccio's  8,life of ,dante10--a     
great man to describe a greater4 ,to    
help us1  perhaps a volume or two of ,m4
 ,sismondi's 8,italian ,republics0 will 
be  as good as the entire sixteen4 ,when
 we come to ,michel ,angelo1 his        
,sonnets and ,letters must be read1 with
 his ,life by ,vasari1 or1 in our  day1 
by ,herman ,grimm4 ,for the ,church1 and
 the ,feudal ,institution1 ,mr4         
,hallam's 8,middle ,ages0 will furnish1 
if superficial1 yet readable and        

conceivable outlines4    ,the 8,life of 
the ,emperor ,charles ,v410 by the      
useful ,robertson1 is  still the key of 
the following age4 ,ximenes1 ,columbus1 
,loyola1 ,luther1  ,erasmus1            
,melanchthon1 ,francis ,i41 ,henry      
,,viii41 ,elizabeth1 and ,henry  ,,iv4  
of ,france1 are his contemporaries4 ,it 
is a time of seeds and  expansions1     
whereof our recent civilization is the  
fruit4    ,if now the relations of      
,england to ,european affairs bring him 
to  ,british ground1 he is arrived at   
the very moment when modern history     
takes new proportions4 ,he can look back
 for the legends and mythology  to the  
8,younger ,edda0 and the 8,heimskringla0
 of ,snorro ,sturleson1 to  ,mallet's   
8,northern ,antiquities10 to ,ellis's   
8,metrical ,romances10 to  ,asser's     
8,life of ,alfred0 and ,venerable ,bede1
 and to the researches of  ,sharon      
,turner and ,palgrave4 ,hume will serve 
him for an intelligent  guide1 and in   
the ,elizabethan era he is at the       

richest period of the  ,english mind1   
with the chief men of action and of     
thought which that  nation has produced1
 and with a pregnant future before him4 
,here he has  ,shakspeare1 ,spenser1    
,sidney1 ,raleigh1 ,bacon1 ,chapman1    
,jonson1 ,ford1  ,beaumont and          
,fletcher1 ,herbert1 ,donne1 ,herrick2  
and ,milton1 ,marvell1  and ,dryden1 not
 long after4    ,in reading history1 he 
is to prefer the history of individuals4
 ,he will  not repent the time he gives 
to ,bacon1--not if he read the          
8,advancement  of ,learning10 the       
8,essays10 the 8,novum ,organum10 the   
8,history of  ,henry ,,vii410 and then  
all the 8,letters0 7especially those to 
the  ,earl of ,devonshire1 explaining   
the ,essex business71 and all but his   
8,apophthegms40    ,the task is aided by
 the strong mutual light which these men
 shed  on each other4 ,thus1 the works  
of ,ben ,jonson are a sort of hoop to   
bind all these fine persons together1   
and to the land to which they  belong4  

,he has written verses to or on all his 
notable contemporaries2  and what with  
so many occasional poems1 and the       
portrait sketches in  his               
8,discoveries10 and the gossiping record
 of his opinions in his  conversations  
with ,drummond of ,hawthornden1 he has  
really illustrated  the ,england of his 
time1 if not to the same extent1 yet    
much in the  same way1 as ,walter ,scott
 has celebrated the persons and places  
of  ,scotland4 ,walton1 ,chapman1       
,herrick1 and ,sir ,henry ,wotton write 
also to  the times4    ,among the best  
books are certain ,autobiographies3 as1 
,st4 ,augustine's  ,confessions2        
,benvenuto ,cellini's ,life2            
,montaigne's ,essays2 ,lord  ,herbert of
 ,cherbury's ,memoirs2 ,memoirs of the  
,cardinal de ,retz2  ,rousseau's        
,confessions2 ,linnus's ,diary2         
,gibbon's1 ,hume's1 ,franklin's1        
,burns's1 ,alfieri's1 ,goethe's1 and    
,haydon's ,autobiographies4    ,another 
class of books closely allied to these1 

and of like interest1  are those which  
may be called ,table-,talks3 of which   
the best are  ,saadi's ,gulistan2       
,luther's ,table-,talk2 ,aubrey's       
,lives2 ,spence's  ,anecdotes2 ,selden's
 ,table-,talk2 ,boswell's ,life of      
,johnson2 ,eckermann's  ,conversations  
with ,goethe2 ,coleridge's ,table-,talk2
 and ,hazlitt's ,life  of ,northcote4   
,there is a class whose value ,i should 
designate as ,favorites3 such  as       
,froissart's ,chronicles2 ,southey's    
,chronicle of the ,cid2 ,cervantes2     
,sully's ,memoirs2 ,rabelais2           
,montaigne2 ,izaak ,walton2 ,evelyn2    
,sir ,thomas  ,browne2 ,aubrey2 ,sterne2
 ,horace ,walpole2 ,lord ,clarendon2    
,doctor ,johnson2  ,burke1 shedding     
floods of light on his times2 ,lamb2    
,landor2 and ,de  ,quincey2--a list1 of 
course1 that may easily be swelled1 as  
dependent  on individual caprice4 ,many 
men are as tender and irritable as      
lovers  in reference to these           
predilections4 ,indeed1 a man's library 

is a sort  of harem1 and ,i observe that
 tender readers have a great pudency in 
showing their books to a stranger4      
,the annals of bibliography afford many 
examples of the delirious  extent to    
which book-fancying can go1 when the    
legitimate delight in a  book is        
transferred to a rare edition or to a   
manuscript4 ,this mania  reached its    
height about the beginning of the       
present century4 ,for an  autograph of  
,shakspeare one hundred and fifty-five  
guineas were given4  ,in ,may1 #ahab1   
the library of the ,duke of ,roxburgh   
was sold4 ,the sale  lasted forty-two   
days1--we abridge the story from        
,dibdin1--and among  the many           
curiosities was a copy of ,boccaccio    
published by ,valdarfer1  at ,venice1 in
 #adga2 the only perfect copy of this   
edition4 ,among  the distinguished      
company which attended the sale were the
 ,duke of  ,devonshire1 ,earl ,spencer1 
and the ,duke of ,marlborough1 then     
,marquis  of ,blandford4 ,the bid stood 

at five hundred guineas4 8,a thousand   
guineas10 said ,earl ,spencer3 8,and    
ten10 added the ,marquis4 ,you might    
hear a pin drop4 ,all eyes were bent on 
the bidders4 ,now they talked  apart1   
now ate a biscuit1 now made a bet1 but  
without the least thought  of yielding  
one to the other4 ,but to pass over some
 details1--the  contest proceeded until 
the ,marquis said1 8,two thousand       
pounds40 ,the  ,earl ,spencer bethought 
him like a prudent general of useless   
bloodshed  and waste of powder1 and had 
paused a quarter of a minute1 when ,lord
  ,althorp with long steps came to his  
side1 as if to bring his father a  fresh
 lance to renew the fight4 ,father and  
son whispered together1 and  ,earl      
,spencer exclaimed1 8,two thousand two  
hundred and fifty pounds60  ,an electric
 shock went through the assembly4 8,and 
ten10 quietly added  the ,marquis4      
,there ended the strife4 ,ere ,evans let
 the hammer fall1 he  paused2 the ivory 
instrument swept the air2 the spectators

 stood dumb1  when the hammer fell4 ,the
 stroke of its fall sounded on the      
farthest  shores of ,italy4 ,the tap of 
that hammer was heard in the libraries  
of  ,rome1 ,milan1 and ,venice4         
,boccaccio stirred in his sleep of five 
hundred  years1 and ,m4 ,van ,praet     
groped in vain among the royal alcoves  
in  ,paris1 to detect a copy of the     
famed ,valdarfer ,boccaccio4    ,another
 class ,i distinguish by the term       
,vocabularies4 ,burton's  8,anatomy of  
,melancholy0 is a book of great         
learning4 ,to read it is  like reading  
in a dictionary4 ',tis an inventory to  
remind us how  many classes and species 
of facts exist1 and1 in observing into  
what strange and multiplex by-ways      
learning has strayed1 to infer  our     
opulence4 ,neither is a dictionary a bad
 book to read4 ,there is  no cant in    
,germans1 it1 no excess of explanation1 
and it is full of  suggestion1--the raw 
material of possible poems and          
histories4 ,nothing  is wanting but a   

little shuffling1 sorting1 ligature1 and
 cartilage4  ,out of a hundred examples1
 ,cornelius ,agrippa 8,on the ,vanity of
 ,arts  and ,sciences0 is a specimen of 
that scribatiousness which grew to be   
the habit of the gluttonous readers of  
his time4 ,like the modern they  read a 
literature while other mortals read a   
few books4 ,they read  voraciously1 and 
must disburden themselves2 so they take 
any general  topic1 as1 ,melancholy1 or 
,praise of ,science1 or ,praise of      
,folly1  and write and quote without    
method or end4 ,now and then out of that
  affluence of their learning comes a   
fine sentence from ,theophrastus1  or   
,seneca1 or ,bothius1 but no high       
method1 no inspiring efflux4 ,but  one  
cannot afford to read for a few         
sentences2 they are good only as        
strings of suggestive words4    ,there  
is another class1 more needful to the   
present age1 because  the currents of   
custom run now in another direction1 and
 leave us  dry on this side2--,i mean   

the ,imaginative4 ,a right metaphysics  
should do justice to the co-ordinate    
powers of ,imagination1 ,insight1       
,understanding1 and ,will4 ,poetry1 with
 its aids of ,mythology and  ,romance1  
must be well allowed for an imaginative 
creature4 ,men are  ever lapsing into a 
beggarly habit1 wherein everything that 
is not  ciphering1 that is1 which does  
not serve the tyrannical animal1 is     
hustled out of sight4 ,our orators and  
writers are of the same poverty1  and1  
in this rag-fair1 neither the           
,imagination1 the great awakening       
power1 nor the ,morals1 creative of     
genius and of men1 are addressed4  ,but 
though orator and poet be of this hunger
 party1 the capacities  remain4 ,we must
 have symbols4 ,the child asks you for a
 story1 and is  thankful for the        
poorest4 ,it is not poor to him1 but    
radiant with  meaning4 ,the man asks for
 a novel1--that is1 asks leave for a few
  hours to be a poet1 and to paint      
things as they ought to be4 ,the youth  

asks for a poem4 ,the very dunces wish  
to go to the theatre4 ,what  private    
heavens can we not open1 by yielding to 
all the suggestion of  rich music6 ,we  
must have idolatries1 mythologies1--some
 swing and verge  for the creative power
 lying coiled and cramped here1 driving 
ardent  natures to insanity and crime if
 it do not find vent4 ,without the great
  arts which speak to the sense of      
beauty1 a man seems to me a poor1       
naked1 shivering creature4 ,these are   
his becoming draperies1 which warm  and 
adorn him4 ,whilst the prudential and   
economical tone of society  starves the 
imagination1 affronted ,nature gets such
 indemnity as she  may4 ,the novel is   
that allowance and frolic the           
imagination finds4  ,everything else    
pins it down1 and men flee for redress  
to ,byron1 ,scott1  ,disraeli1 ,dumas1  
,sand1 ,balzac1 ,dickens1 ,thackeray1   
and ,reade4 ,their  education is        
neglected2 but the circulating-library  
and the theatre1 as  well as the        

trout-fishing1 the ,notch ,mountains1   
the ,adirondack country1  the tour to   
,mont ,blanc1 to the ,white ,hills1 and 
the ,ghauts1 make such  amends as they  
can4    ,the imagination infuses a      
certain volatility and intoxication4 ,it
 has a  flute which sets the atoms of   
our frame in a dance1 like planets2 and1
  once so liberated1 the whole man      
reeling drunk to the music1 they never  
quite subside to their old stony state4 
,but what is the imagination8  ,only an 
arm or weapon of the interior energy2   
only the precursor of  the reason4 ,and 
books that treat the old pedantries of  
the world1  our times1 places1          
professions1 customs1 opinions1         
histories1 with a  certain freedom1 and 
distribute things1 not after the usages 
of ,america  and ,europe1 but after the 
laws of right reason1 and with as daring
 a  freedom as we use in dreams1 put us 
on our feet again1 enable us to  form an
 original judgment of our duties1 and   
suggest new thoughts for  to-morrow4    

8,lucrezia ,floriani10 8,le ,pch de ,m4 
,antoine10 8,jeanne10 and  8,consuelo10 
of ,george ,sand1 are great steps from  
the novel of one  termination1 which we 
all read twenty years ago4 ,yet how far 
off from  life and manners and motives  
the novel still is6 ,life lies about us 
dumb2 the day1 as we know it1 has not   
yet found a tongue4 ,these stories  are 
to the plots of real life what the      
figures in 8,la ,belle ,assemble10      
which represent the fashion of the      
month1 are to portraits4 ,but the  novel
 will find the way to our interiors one 
day1 and will not always  be the novel  
of costume merely4 ,i do not think it   
inoperative now4 ,so  much novel-reading
 cannot leave the young men and maidens 
untouched2  and doubtless it gives some 
ideal dignity to the day4 ,the young    
study  noble behavior2 and as the player
 in 8,consuelo0 insists that he and his 
colleagues on the boards have taught    
princes the fine etiquette and  strokes 
of grace and dignity which they practise

 with so much effect  in their villas   
and among their dependents1 so ,i often 
see traces  of the ,scotch or the       
,french novel in the courtesy and       
brilliancy of  young midshipmen1        
collegians1 and clerks4 ,indeed1 when   
one observes  how ill and ugly people   
make their loves and quarrels1 'tis pity
 they  should not read novels a little  
more1 to import the fine generosities1  
and the clear1 firm conduct1 which are  
as becoming in the unions and           
separations which love effects under    
shingle roofs as in palaces and  among  
illustrious personages4    ,in novels   
the most serious questions are beginning
 to be discussed4  ,what made the       
popularity of 8,jane ,eyre10 but that a 
central question  was answered in some  
sort8 ,the question there answered in   
regard to a  vicious marriage will      
always be treated according to the habit
 of the  party4 ,a person of commanding 
individualism will answer it as         
,rochester  does1--as ,cleopatra1 as    

,milton1 as ,george ,sand               
do1--magnifying the  exception into a   
rule1 dwarfing the world into an        
exception4 ,a person  of less courage1  
that is1 of less constitution1 will     
answer as the  heroine does1--giving way
 to fate1 to conventionalism1 to the    
actual  state and doings of men and     
women4    ,for the most part1 our       
novel-reading is a passion for results4 
,we  admire parks1 and high-born        
beauties1 and the homage of             
drawing-rooms1  and parliaments4 ,they  
make us sceptical1 by giving prominence 
to  wealth and social position4    ,i   
remember when some peering eyes of boys 
discovered that the oranges  hanging on 
the boughs of an orange-tree in a gay   
piazza were tied to  the twigs by       
thread4 ,i fear 'tis so with the        
novelist's prosperities4  ,nature has a 
magic by which she fits the man to his  
fortunes1 by  making them the fruit of  
his character4 ,but the novelist plucks 
this  event here1 and that fortune      

there1 and ties them rashly to his      
figures1 to tickle the fancy of his     
readers with a cloying success1  or     
scare them with shocks of tragedy4 ,and 
so1 on the whole1 'tis a  juggle4 ,we   
are cheated into laughter or wonder by  
feats which only  oddly combine acts    
that we do every day4 ,there is no new  
element1 no  power1 no furtherance4     
',tis only confectionery1 not the       
raising of new  corn4 ,great is the     
poverty of their inventions4 ,she was   
beautiful1  and he fell in love4 ,money1
 and killing1 and the ,wandering ,jew1  
and  persuading the lover that his      
mistress is betrothed to another1--these
  are the main-springs3 new names1 but  
no new qualities in the men and  women4 
,hence the vain endeavor to keep any bit
 of this fairy gold1  which has rolled  
like a brook through our hands4 ,a      
thousand thoughts  awoke2 great rainbows
 seemed to span the sky1--a morning     
among the  mountains2--but we close the 
book1 and not a ray remains in the      

memory  of evening4 ,but this passion   
for romance1 and this disappointment1   
show how much we need real elevations   
and pure poetry3 that which shall  show 
us1 in morning and night1 in stars and  
mountains1 and in all the  plight and   
circumstance of men1 the analogons of   
our own thoughts1 and  a like impression
 made by a just book and by the face of 
,nature4    ,if our times are sterile in
 genius1 we must cheer us with books of 
rich and believing men who had          
atmosphere and amplitude about them4    
,every good fable1 every mythology1     
every biography from a religious  age1  
every passage of love1 and even         
philosophy and science1 when  they      
proceed from an intellectual integrity1 
and are not detached  and critical1 have
 the imaginative element4 ,the ,greek   
fables1 the  ,persian history           
7,firdusi71 the 8,younger ,edda0 of the 
,scandinavians1  the 8,chronicle of the 
,cid10 the poem of ,dante1 the ,sonnets 
of ,michel  ,angelo1 the ,english drama 

of ,shakspeare1 ,beaumont and ,fletcher1
 and  ,ford1 and even the prose of      
,bacon and ,milton1--in our time1 the   
,ode  of ,wordsworth1 and the poems and 
the prose of ,goethe1 have this         
enlargement1 and inspire hope and       
generous attempts4    ,there is no room 
left1--and yet ,i might as well not have
 begun as  to leave out a class of books
 which are the best3 ,i mean the ,bibles
  of the world1 or the sacred books of  
each nation1 which express for  each the
 supreme result of their experience4    
,after the ,hebrew and  ,greek          
,scriptures1 which constitute the sacred
 books of ,christendom1  these are1 the 
,desatir of the ,persians1 and the      
,zoroastrian ,oracles2  the ,vedas and  
,laws of ,menu2 the ,upanishads1 the    
,vishnu ,purana1 the  ,bhagvat ,geeta1  
of the ,hindoos2 the books of the       
,buddhists2 the  8,chinese ,classic10 of
 four books1 containing the wisdom of   
,confucius  and ,mencius4 ,also such    
other books as have acquired a          

semi-canonical  authority in the world1 
as expressing the highest sentiment and 
hope of  nations4 ,such are the 8,hermes
 ,trismegistus10 pretending to be       
,egyptian  remains2 the 8,sentences0 of 
,epictetus2 of ,marcus ,antoninus2 the  
8,vishnu  ,sarma0 of the ,hindoos2 the  
8,gulistan0 of ,saadi2 the 8,imitation  
of  ,christ10 of ,thomas  ,kempis2 and  
the 8,thoughts0 of ,pascal4    ,all     
these books are the majestic expressions
 of the universal  conscience1 and are  
more to our daily purpose than this     
year's almanac  or this day's newspaper4
 ,but they are for the closet1 and to be
 read  on the bended knee4 ,their       
communications are not to be given or   
taken with the lips and the end of the  
tongue1 but out of the glow  of the     
cheek1 and with the throbbing heart4    
,friendship should give  and take1      
solitude and time brood and ripen1      
heroes absorb and enact  them4 ,they are
 not to be held by letters printed on a 
page1 but are  living characters        

translatable into every tongue and form 
of life4  ,i read them on lichens and   
bark2 ,i watch them on waves on the     
beach2  they fly in birds1 they creep in
 worms2 ,i detect them in laughter and  
blushes and eye-sparkles of men and     
women4 ,these are ,scriptures which  the
 missionary might well carry over       
prairie1 desert1 and ocean1 to          
,siberia1 ,japan1 ,timbuctoo4 ,yet he   
will find that the spirit which is in   
them journeys faster than he1 and greets
 him on his arrival1--was there  already
 long before him4 ,the missionary must  
be carried by it1 and find  it there1 or
 he goes in vain4 ,is there any         
geography in these things8  ,we call    
them ,asiatic1 we call them primeval2   
but perhaps that is only  optical2 for  
,nature is always equal to herself1 and 
there are as good  eyes and ears now in 
the planet as ever were4 ,only these    
ejaculations  of the soul are uttered   
one or a few at a time1 at long         
intervals1 and  it takes millenniums to 

make a ,bible4    ,these are a few of   
the books which the old and the later   
times have  yielded us1 which will      
reward the time spent on them4 ,in      
comparing the  number of good books with
 the shortness of life1 many might well 
be  read by proxy1 if we had good       
proxies2 and it would be well for       
sincere  young men to borrow a hint from
 the ,french ,institute and the ,british
  ,association1 and1 as they divide the 
whole body into sections1 each of  which
 sits upon and reports of certain       
matters confided to it1 so let  each    
scholar associate himself to such       
persons as he can rely on1 in  a        
literary club1 in which each shall      
undertake a single work or series  for  
which he is qualified4 ,for example1 how
 attractive is the whole  literature of 
the 8,roman de la ,rose10 the           
8,fabliaux10 and the gaie  science of   
the ,french ,troubadours6 ,yet who in   
,boston has time for  that8 ,but one of 
our company shall undertake it1 shall   

study and master  it1 and shall report  
on it1 as under oath2 shall give us the 
sincere  result1 as it lies in his mind1
 adding nothing1 keeping nothing back4  
,another member1 meantime1 shall as     
honestly search1 sift1 and as truly     
report1 on ,british mythology1 the      
,round ,table1 the histories of ,brut1  
,merlin1 and ,welsh poetry2 a third on  
the ,saxon ,chronicles1 ,robert of      
,gloucester1 and ,william of            
,malmesbury2 a fourth1 on ,mysteries1   
,early  ,drama1 8,gesta ,romanorum10    
,collier1 and ,dyce1 and the ,camden    
,society4  ,each shall give us his      
grains of gold1 after the washing2 and  
every  other shall then decide whether  
this is a book indispensable to him     
also4          ,,clubs4                 
,,clubs4      ,we are delicate machines1
 and require nice treatment to get from 
us  the maximum of power and pleasure4  
,we need tonics1 but must have those    
that cost little or no reaction4 ,the   
flame of life burns too fast in  pure   

oxygen1 and nature has tempered the air 
with nitrogen4 ,so thought  is the      
native air of the mind1 yet pure it is a
 poison to our mixed  constitution1 and 
soon burns up the bone-house of man1    
unless tempered  with affection and     
coarse practice in the material world4  
,varied  foods1 climates1 beautiful     
objects1--and especially the alternation
 of  a large variety of objects--are the
 necessity of this exigent system  of   
ours4 ,but our tonics1 our luxuries1 are
 force-pumps which exhaust  the strength
 they pretend to supply2 and of all the 
cordials known to  us1 the best1 safest1
 and most exhilarating1 with the least  
harm1 is  society2 and every healthy and
 efficient mind passes a large part of  
life in the company most easy to him4   
,we seek society with very different    
aims1 and the staple of  conversation is
 widely unlike in its circles4          
,sometimes it is  facts1--running from  
those of daily necessity to the last    
results of  science1--and has all       

degrees of importance2 sometimes it is  
love1 and  makes the balm of our early  
and of our latest days2 sometimes it is 
thought1 as from a person who is a mind 
only2 sometimes a singing1 as  if the   
heart poured out all like a bird2       
sometimes experience4 ,with  some men it
 is a debate2 at the approach of a      
dispute they neigh like  horses4 ,unless
 there be an argument1 they think       
nothing is doing4  ,some talkers excel  
in the precision with which they        
formulate their  thoughts1 so that you  
get from them somewhat to remember2     
others lay  criticism asleep by a charm4
 ,especially women use words that are   
not  words1--as steps in a dance are not
 steps1--but reproduce the genius  of   
that they speak of2 as the sound of some
 bells makes us think of  the bell      
merely1 whilst the church-chimes in the 
distance bring the  church and its      
serious memories before us4 ,opinions   
are accidental in  people1--have a      
poverty-stricken air4 ,a man valuing    

himself as the  organ of this or that   
dogma is a dull companion enough2 but   
opinion  native to the speaker is sweet 
and refreshing1 and inseparable from his
  image4 ,neither do we by any means    
always go to people for conversation4   
,how often to say nothing1--and yet must
 go2 as a child will long for  his      
companions1 but among them plays by     
himself4 ',tis only presence  which we  
want4 ,but one thing is certain1--at    
some rate1 intercourse we  must have4   
,the experience of retired men is       
positive1--that we lose our  days and   
are barren of thought for want of some  
person to talk with4  ,the understanding
 can no more empty itself by its own    
action than can a  deal box4    ,the    
clergyman walks from house to house all 
day all the year to give  people the    
comfort of good talk4 ,the physician    
helps them mainly in the  same way1 by  
healthy talk giving a right tone to the 
patient's mind4  ,the dinner1 the walk1 
the fireside1 all have that for their   

main end4    ,see how ,nature has       
secured the communication of knowledge4 
',tis certain  that money does not more 
burn in a boy's pocket than a piece of  
news  burns in our memory until we can  
tell it4 ,and1 in higher activity of    
mind1 every new perception is attended  
with a thrill of pleasure1 and  the     
imparting of it to others is also       
attended with pleasure4 ,thought  is the
 child of the intellect1 and this child 
is conceived with joy and  born with    
joy4    ,conversation is the laboratory 
and workshop of the student4 ,the       
affection or sympathy helps4 ,the wish  
to speak to the want of another  mind   
assists to clear your own4 ,a certain   
truth possesses us1 which we  in all    
ways strive to utter4 ,every time we say
 a thing in conversation1  we get a     
mechanical advantage in detaching it    
well and delivery4 ,i  prize the        
mechanics of conversation4 ',tis pulley 
and lever and screw4  ,to fairly        
disengage the mass1 and send it jingling

 down1 a good  boulder1--a block of     
quartz and gold1 to be worked up at     
leisure in the  useful arts of life1--is
 a wonderful relief4    ,what are the   
best days in memory8 ,those in which we 
met a companion who  was truly such4    
,how sweet those hours when the day was 
not long enough  to communicate and     
compare our intellectual jewels1--the   
favorite  passages of each book1 the    
proud anecdotes of our heroes1 the      
delicious  verses we had hoarded6 ,what 
a motive had then our solitary days6    
,how  the countenance of our friend     
still left some light after he had gone6
  ,we remember the time when the best   
gift we could ask of fortune was  to    
fall in with a valuable companion in a  
ship's cabin1 or on a long  journey in  
the old stage-coach1 where1 each        
passenger being forced  to know every   
other1 and other employments being out  
of question1  conversation naturally    
flowed1 people became rapidly           
acquainted1 and1  if well adapted1 more 

intimate in a day than if they had been 
neighbors  for years4    ,in youth1 in  
the fury of curiosity and acquisition1  
the day is too  short for books and the 
crowd of thoughts1 and we are impatient 
of  interruption4 ,later1 when books    
tire1 thought has a more languid flow2  
and the days come when we are alarmed1  
and say there are no thoughts4  #8,what 
a barren-witted pate is mine6' the      
student says2 #8,i will go and  learn   
whether ,i have lost my reason4' ,he    
seeks intelligent persons1  whether more
 wise or less wise than he1 who give him
 provocation1  and at once and easily   
the old motion begins in his brain3     
thoughts1  fancies1 humors flow2 the    
cloud lifts2 the horizon broadens2 and  
the infinite opulence of things is again
 shown him4 ,but the right  conditions  
must be observed4 ,mainly he must have  
leave to be himself4  ,sancho ,panza    
blessed the man who invented sleep4 ,so 
,i prize the good  invention whereby    
everybody is provided with somebody who 

is glad to  see him4    ,if men are less
 when together than they are alone1 they
 are also in  some respects enlarged4   
,they kindle each other2 and such is the
 power  of suggestion1 that each        
sprightly story calls out more2 and     
sometimes  a fact that had long slept in
 the recesses of memory hears the voice1
  is welcomed to daylight1 and proves of
 rare value4 ,every metaphysician  must 
have observed1 not only that no thought 
is alone1 but that  thoughts commonly go
 in pairs2 though the related thoughts  
first  appeared in his mind at long     
distances of time4 ,things are in pairs3
  a natural fact has only half its      
value1 until a fact in moral nature1    
its counterpart1 is stated4 ,then they  
confirm and adorn each other2 a  story  
is matched by another story4 ,and that  
may be the reason why1 when  a gentleman
 has told a good thing1 he immediately  
tells it again4    ,nothing seems so    
cheap as the benefit of conversation3   
nothing is more  rare4 ',tis wonderful  

how you are balked and baffled4 ,there  
is plenty  of intelligence1 reading1    
curiosity2 but serious1 happy discourse1
  avoiding personalities1 dealing with  
results1 is rare3 and ,i seldom  meet   
with a reading and thoughtful person but
 he tells me1 as if it  were his        
exceptional mishap1 that he has no      
companion4    ,suppose such a one to go 
out exploring different circles in      
search  of this wise and genial         
counterpart1--he might inquire far and  
wide4 ,conversation in society is found 
to be on a platform so low  as to       
exclude science1 the saint1 and the     
poet4 ,amidst all the gay  banter1      
sentiment cannot profane itself and     
venture out4 ,the reply  of old         
,isocrates comes so often to            
mind1--8,the things which are now       
seasonable ,i cannot say2 and for the   
things which ,i can say it is not  now  
the time40 ,besides1 who can resist the 
charm of talent8 ,the lover  of letters 
loves power too4 ,among the men of wit  

and learning1 he  could not withhold his
 homage from the gayety1 grasp of       
memory1 luck1  splendor1 and speed2 such
 exploits of discourse1 such feats of   
society6  ,what new powers1 what mines  
of wealth6 ,but when he came home1 his  
brave  sequins were dry leaves4 ,he     
found either that the fact they had thus
  dizened and adorned was of no value1  
or that he already knew all and  more   
than all they had told him4 ,he could   
not find that he was helped  by so much 
as one thought or principle1 one solid  
fact1 one commanding  impulse3 great was
 the dazzle1 but the gain was small4 ,he
 uses his  occasions2 he seeks the      
company of those who have convivial     
talent4 ,but  the moment they meet1 to  
be sure they begin to be something else 
than  they were2 they play pranks1 dance
 jigs1 run on each other1 pun1 tell     
stories1 try many fantastic tricks1     
under some superstition that there  must
 be excitement and elevation2--and they 
kill conversation at once4  ,i know well

 the rusticity of the shy hermit4 ,no   
doubt he does not make  allowance enough
 for men of more active blood and habit4
 ,but it is only  on natural ground that
 conversation can be rich4 ,it must not 
begin with  uproar and violence4 ,let it
 keep the ground1 let it feel the       
connection  with the battery4 ,men must 
not be off their centres4    ,some men  
love only to talk where they are        
masters4 ,they like to go to            
school-girls1 or to boys1 or into the   
shops where the sauntering people       
gladly lend an ear to any one4 ,on these
 terms they give information1  and      
please themselves by sallies and chat   
which are admired by the  idlers2 and   
the talker is at his ease and jolly1 for
 he can walk out  without ceremony when 
he pleases4 ,they go rarely to their    
equals1 and  then as for their own      
convenience simply1 making too much     
haste to  introduce and impart their new
 whim or discovery2 listen badly1 or  do
 not listen to the comment or to the    

thought by which the company  strive to 
repay them2 rather1 as soon as their own
 speech is done1  they take their hats4 
,then there are the gladiators1 to whom 
it is  always a battle2 'tis no matter  
on which side1 they fight for victory2  
then the heady men1 the egotists1 the   
monotones1 the steriles1 and the        
impracticables4    ,it does not help    
that you find as good or a better man   
than yourself1  if he is not timed and  
fitted to you4 ,the greatest sufferers  
are  often those who have the most to   
say1--men of a delicate sympathy1  who  
are dumb in mixed company4 ,able people1
 if they do not know how  to make       
allowance for them1 paralyze them4 ,one 
of those conceited  prigs who value     
nature only as it feeds and exhibits    
them is equally  a pest with the        
roysterers4 ,there must be large        
reception as well  as giving4 ,how      
delightful after these disturbers is the
 radiant1  playful wit of--one whom ,i  
need not name1--for in every society    

there  is his representative4           
,good-nature is stronger than tomahawks4
 ,his  conversation is all pictures3 he 
can reproduce whatever he has seen2  he 
tells the best story in the county1 and 
is of such genial temper  that he       
disposes all others irresistibly to     
good-humor and discourse4  ,diderot said
 of the ,abb ,galiani3 8,he was a       
treasure in rainy days2 and  if the     
cabinet-makers made such things1        
everybody would have one in the         
country40    ,one lesson we learn       
early1--that1 in spite of seeming       
difference1 men  are all of one pattern4
 ,we readily assume this with our mates1
 and are  disappointed and angry if we  
find that we are premature1 and that    
their  watches are slower than ours4 ,in
 fact1 the only sin which we never      
forgive in each other is difference of  
opinion4 ,we know beforehand that       
yonder man must think as we do4 ,has he 
not two hands1--two feet1--hair  and    
nails8 ,does he not                     

eat1--bleed1--laugh1--cry8 ,his dissent 
from  me is the veriest affectation4    
,this conclusion is at once the logic   
of persecution and of love4 ,and the    
ground of our indignation is our        
conviction that his dissent is some     
wilfulness he practises on himself4  ,he
 checks the flow of his opinion1 as the 
cross cow holds up her milk4  ,yes1 and 
we look into his eye1 and see that he   
knows it and hides his  eye from ours4  
,but to come a little nearer to my mark1
 ,i am to say that there may  easily be 
obstacles in the way of finding the pure
 article we are in  search of2 but when 
we find it1 it is worth the pursuit1 for
 beside  its comfort as medicine and    
cordial1 once in the right company1 new 
and vast values do not fail to appear4  
,all that man can do for man is  to be  
found in that market4 ,there are great  
prizes in this game4 ,our  fortunes in  
the world are as our mental equipment   
for this competition  is4 ,yonder is a  
man who can answer the questions which  

,i cannot4 ,is  it so8 ,hence comes to  
me boundless curiosity to know his      
experiences  and his wit4 ,hence        
competition for the stakes dearest to   
man4 ,what is  a match at whist1 or     
draughts1 or billiards1 or chess1 to a  
match of  mother-wit1 of knowledge1 and 
of resources8 ,however courteously we   
conceal it1 it is social rank and       
spiritual power that are compared2      
whether in the parlor1 the courts1 the  
caucus1 the senate1 or the  chamber of  
science1--which are only less or larger 
theatres for this  competition4    ,he  
that can define1 he that can answer a   
question so as to admit of no  further  
answer1 is the best man4 ,this was the  
meaning of the story of  the ,sphinx4   
,in the old time conundrums were sent   
from king to king by  ambassadors4 ,the 
seven wise masters at ,periander's      
banquet spent their  time in answering  
them4 ,the life of ,socrates is a       
propounding and a  solution of these4   
,so1 in the hagiology of each nation1   

the lawgiver  was in each case some man 
of eloquent tongue1 whose sympathy      
brought  him face to face with the      
extremes of society4 ,jesus1 ,menu1 the 
first  ,buddhist1 ,mahomet1 ,zertusht1  
,pythagoras1 are examples4    ,jesus    
spent his life in discoursing with      
humble people on life and  duty1 in     
giving wise answers1 showing that he saw
 at a larger angle  of vision1 and at   
least silencing those who were not      
generous enough  to accept his thoughts4
 ,luther spent his life so2 and it is   
not his  theologic works1--his          
8,commentary on the ,galatians10 and the
 rest1  but his 8,table-,talk0 which is 
still read by men4 ,dr4 ,johnson was  a 
man of no profound mind1--full of       
,english limitations1 ,english          
politics1 ,english ,church1 ,oxford     
philosophy2 yet having a large heart1   
mother-wit1 and good sense1 which       
impatiently overleaped his customary    
bounds1 his conversation as reported by 
,boswell has a lasting charm4           

,conversation is the vent of character  
as well as of thought2 and ,dr4         
,johnson impresses his company1 not only
 by the point of the remark1 but  also1 
when the point fails1 because he makes  
it4 ,his obvious religion  or           
superstition1 his deep wish that they   
should think so or so1 weighs  with     
them1--so rare is depth of feeling1 or a
 constitutional value for  a thought or 
opinion1 among the light-minded men and 
women who make up  society2 and though  
they know that there is in the speaker a
 degree  of shortcoming1 of insincerity1
 and of talking for victory1 yet the    
existence of character1 and habitual    
reverence for principles over  talent or
 learning1 is felt by the frivolous4    
,one of the best records of the great   
,german master1 who towered over  all   
his contemporaries in the first thirty  
years of this century1 is  his          
conversations as recorded by ,eckermann2
 and the 8,table-,talk0 of  ,coleridge  
is one of the best remains of his       

genius4    ,in the ,norse legends1 the  
gods of ,valhalla1 when they meet the   
,jotuns1  converse on the perilous terms
 that he who cannot answer the other's  
questions forfeits his own life4 ,odin  
comes to the threshold of the  ,jotun   
,waftrhudnir in disguise1 calling       
himself ,gangrader2 is invited  into the
 hall1 and told that he cannot go out   
thence unless he can  answer every      
question ,waftrhudnir shall put4        
,waftrhudnir asks him the  name of the  
god of the sun1 and of the god who      
brings the night2 what  river separates 
the dwellings of the sons of the giants 
from those of  the gods2 what plain lies
 between the gods and ,surtur1 their    
adversary1  etc42 all which the         
disguised ,odin answers satisfactorily4 
,then it is  his turn to interrogate1   
and he is answered well for a time by   
the  ,jotun4 ,at last he puts a question
 which none but himself could answer3   
8,what did ,odin whisper in the ear of  
his son ,balder1 when ,balder  mounted  

the funeral pile80 ,the startled giant  
replies3 8,none of the  gods knows what 
in the old time ,,thou saidst in the ear
 of thy son3 with  death on my mouth    
have ,i spoken the fate-words of the    
generation of the  sir2 with ,odin      
contended ,i in wise words4 ,thou must  
ever the wisest  be40    ,and still the 
gods and giants are so known1 and still 
they play the  same game in all the     
million mansions of heaven and of earth2
 at all  tables1 clubs1 and tte--ttes1  
the lawyers in the court-house1  the    
senators in the capitol1 the doctors in 
the academy1 the wits in  the hotel4    
,best is he who gives an answer that    
cannot be answered  again4 ,omnis       
definitio periculosa est1 and only wit  
has the secret4  ,the same thing took   
place when ,leibnitz came to visit      
,newton2 when  ,schiller came to        
,goethe2 when ,france1 in the person of 
,madame de ,stal1  visited ,goethe and  
,schiller2 when ,hegel was the guest of 
,victor ,cousin  in ,paris2 when ,linnus

 was the guest of ,jussieu4 ,it happened
 many  years ago1 that an ,american     
chemist carried a letter of introduction
  to ,dr4 ,dalton of ,manchester1       
,england1 the author of the theory of   
atomic proportions1 and was coolly      
enough received by the ,doctor in the   
laboratory where he was engaged4 ,only  
,dr4 ,dalton scratched a formula  on a  
scrap of paper and pushed it towards the
 guest1--8,had he seen  that80 ,the     
visitor scratched on another paper a    
formula describing  some results of his 
own with sulphuric acid1 and pushed it  
across the  table1--8,had he seen that80
 ,the attention of the ,english chemist 
was  instantly arrested1 and they became
 rapidly acquainted4 ,to answer a       
question so as to admit of no reply1 is 
the test of a man1--to touch  bottom    
every time4 ,hyde1 ,earl of ,rochester1 
asked ,lord-,keeper ,guilford1  8,do you
 not think ,i could understand any      
business in ,england in a  month80      
8,yes1 my ,lord10 replied the other1    

8but ,i think you would  understand it  
better in two months40 ,when ,edward ,i4
 claimed to be  acknowledged by the     
,scotch 7#abib7 as lord paramount1 the  
nobles of  ,scotland replied1 8,no      
answer can be made while the throne is  
vacant40  ,when ,henry ,,iii4 7#abag7   
plead duress against his people         
demanding  confirmation and execution of
 the ,charter1 the reply was3 8,if this 
were  admitted1 civil wars could never  
close but by the extirpation of one of  
the contending parties40    ,what can   
you do with one of these sharp          
respondents8 ,what can you do  with an  
eloquent man8 ,no rules of debate1 no   
contempt of court1 no  exclusions1 no   
gag-laws can be contrived1 that his     
first syllable will  not set aside or   
overstep and annul4 ,you can shut out   
the light1 it may  be2 but can you shut 
out gravitation8 ,you may condemn his   
book2 but  can you fight against his    
thought8 ,that is always too nimble for 
you1  anticipates you1 and breaks out   

victorious in some other quarter4 ,can  
you stop the motions of good sense8     
,what can you do with ,beaumarchais1    
who converts the censor whom the court  
has appointed to stifle his  play into  
an ardent advocate8 ,the court appoints 
another censor1 who  shall crush it this
 time4 ,beaumarchais persuades him to   
defend it4 ,the  court successively     
appoints three more severe inquisitors2 
,beaumarchais  converts them all into   
triumphant vindicators of the play which
 is  to bring in the ,revolution4 ,who  
can stop the mouth of ,luther1--of      
,newton8--of ,franklin1--of             
,mirabeau1--of ,talleyrand8    ,these   
masters can make good their own place1  
and need no patron4 ,every  variety of  
gift--science1 religion1 politics1      
letters1 art1 prudence1  war1 or        
love--has its vent and exchange in      
conversation4 ,conversation  is the     
,olympic games whither every superior   
gift resorts to assert  and approve     
itself1--and1 of course1 the            

inspirations of powerful  and public    
men1 with the rest4 ,but it is not this 
class1--whom the  splendor of their     
accomplishment almost inevitably guides 
into the  vortex of ambition1 makes them
 chancellors and commanders of council  
and of action1 and makes them at last   
fatalists1--not these whom we  now      
consider4 ,we consider those who are    
interested in thoughts1 their  own and  
other men's1 and who delight in         
comparing them1 who think it  the       
highest compliment they can pay a man1  
to deal with him as an  intellect1 to   
expose to him the grand and cheerful    
secrets perhaps  never opened to their  
daily companions1 to share with him the 
sphere of  freedom and the simplicity of
 truth4    ,but the best conversation is
 rare4 ,society seems to have agreed to 
treat fictions as realities1 and        
realities as fictions2 and the simple   
lover of truth1 especially if on very   
high grounds1--as a religious or        
intellectual seeker1--finds himself a   

stranger and alien4    ,it is possible  
that the best conversation is between   
two persons who  can talk only to each  
other4 ,even ,montesquieu confessed     
that1 in  conversation1 if he perceived 
he was listened to by a third person1   
it seemed to him from that moment the   
whole question vanished from  his mind4 
,i have known persons of rare ability   
who were heavy company  to good1 social 
men who knew well enough how to draw out
 others of  retiring habit2 and1        
moreover1 were heavy to intellectual men
 who ought  to have known them4 ,and    
does it never occur that we1 perhaps1   
live with  people too superior to be    
seen1--as there are musical notes too   
high  for the scale of most ears8 ,there
 are men who are great only to one or   
two companions of more opportunity1 or  
more adapted4    ,it was to meet these  
wants that in all civil nations attempts
 have been  made to organize            
conversation by bringing together       
cultivated people  under the most       

favorable conditions4 ',tis certain     
there was liberal  and refined          
conversation in the ,greek1 in the      
,roman1 and in the ,middle  ,age4 ,there
 was a time when in ,france a revolution
 occurred in domestic  architecture2    
when the houses of the nobility1 which1 
up to that time1  had been constructed  
on feudal necessities1 in a hollow      
square1--the  ground-floor being        
resigned to offices and stables1 and the
 floors  above to rooms of state and to 
lodging-rooms1--were rebuilt with new   
purpose4 ,it was the ,marchioness of    
,rambouillet who first got the horses   
out of and the scholars into the        
palaces1 having constructed her  htel   
with a view to society1 with superb     
suites of drawing-rooms  on the same    
floor1 and broke through the morgue of  
etiquette by  inviting to her house men 
of wit and learning as well as men of   
rank1  and piqued the emulation of      
,cardinal ,richelieu to rival           
assemblies1  and so to the founding of  

the ,french ,academy4 ,the history of   
the ,htel  ,rambouillet and its         
brilliant circles makes an important    
date in ,french  civilization4 ,and a   
history of clubs from early antiquity1  
tracing the  efforts to secure liberal  
and refined conversation1 through the   
,greek  and ,roman to the ,middle ,age1 
and thence down through ,french1        
,english1  and ,german memoirs1 tracing 
the clubs and coteries in each country1 
would be an important chapter in        
history4 ,we know well the ,mermaid     
,club1 in ,london1 of ,shakspeare1 ,ben 
,jonson1 ,chapman1 ,herrick1 ,selden1   
,beaumont and ,fletcher2 its 8,rules0   
are preserved1 and many allusions  to   
their suppers are found in ,jonson1     
,herrick1 and in ,aubrey4 ,anthony      
,wood has many details of ,harrington's 
,club4 ,dr4 ,bentley's ,club held       
,newton1 ,wren1 ,evelyn1 and ,locke2 and
 we owe to ,boswell our knowledge of    
the club of ,dr4 ,johnson1 ,goldsmith1  
,burke1 ,gibbon1 ,reynolds1 ,garrick1   

,beauclerk1 and ,percy4 ,and we have    
records of the brilliant society that   
,edinburgh boasted in the first decade  
of this century4 ,such societies  are   
possible only in great cities1 and are  
the compensation which these  can make  
to their dwellers for depriving them of 
the free intercourse  with ,nature4     
,every scholar is surrounded by wiser   
men than he--if they  cannot write as   
well4 ,cannot they meet and exchange    
results to their  mutual benefit and    
delight8 ,it was a pathetic experience  
when a genial  and accomplished person  
said to me1 looking from his country    
home to  the capital of ,new ,england1  
8,there is a town of two hundred        
thousand  people1 and not a chair in it 
for me40 ,if he were sure to find at    
,no4  #bjjj ,tremont ,street what       
scholars were abroad after the morning  
studies  were ended1 ,boston would shine
 as the ,new ,jerusalem to his eyes4    
,now this want of adapted society is    
mutual4 ,the man of thought1 the man  of

 letters1 the man of science1 the       
administrator skilful in affairs1  the  
man of manners and culture1 whom you so 
much wish to find1--each  of these is   
wishing to be found4 ,each wishes to    
open his thought1  his knowledge1 his   
social skill to the daylight in your    
company and  affection1 and to exchange 
his gifts for yours2 and the first hint 
of a  select and intelligent company is 
welcome4    ,but the club must be       
self-protecting1 and obstacles arise at 
the  outset4 ,there are people who      
cannot well be cultivated1 whom you must
  keep down and quiet if you can4 ,there
 are those who have the instinct  of a  
bat to fly against any lighted candle   
and put it out1--marplots  and          
contradictors4 ,there are those who go  
only to talk1 and those  who go only to 
hear3 both are bad4 ,a right rule for a 
club would  be1--,admit no man whose    
presence excludes any one topic4 ,it    
requires  people who are not surprised  
and shocked1 who do and let do1 and let 

be1 who sink trifles1 and know solid    
values1 and who take a great deal  for  
granted4    ,it is always a practical   
difficulty with clubs to regulate the   
laws  of election so as to exclude      
peremptorily every social nuisance4     
,nobody wishes bad manners4 ,we must    
have loyalty and character4 ,the  poet  
,marvell was wont to say 8that he would 
not drink wine with any  one with whom  
he could not trust his life40 ,but      
neither can we afford  to be superfine4 
,a man of irreproachable behavior and   
excellent sense  preferred on his       
travels taking his chance at a hotel for
 company1 to  the charging himself with 
too many select letters of introduction4
 ,he  confessed he liked low company4   
,he said the fact was incontestable1    
that the society of gypsies was more    
attractive than that of bishops4  ,the  
girl deserts the parlor for the kitchen2
 the boy1 for the wharf4  ,tutors and   
parents cannot interest him like the    
uproarious conversation  he finds in the

 market or the dock4 ,i knew a scholar1 
of some  experience in camps1 who said  
that he liked1 in a bar-room1 to tell a 
few coon stories1 and put himself on a  
good footing with the company2  then he 
could be as silent as he chose4 ,a      
scholar does not wish to be  always     
pumping his brains3 he wants gossips4   
,the black-coats are good  company only 
for black-coats2 but when the           
manufacturers1 merchants1  and          
ship-masters meet1 see how much they    
have to say1 and how long the           
conversation lasts6 ,they have come from
 many zones2 they have traversed  wide  
countries2 they know each his own arts1 
and the cunning artisans  of his craft2 
they have seen the best and the worst of
 men4 ,their  knowledge contradicts the 
popular opinion and your own on many    
points4  ,things which you fancy wrong  
they know to be right and profitable2   
things which you reckon superstitious   
they know to be true4 ,they have  found 
virtue in the strangest homes2 and in   

the rich store of their  adventures are 
instances and examples which you have   
been seeking in  vain for years1 and    
which they suddenly and unwittingly     
offer you4    ,i remember a social      
experiment in this direction1 wherein it
 appeared  that each of the members     
fancied he was in need of society1 but  
himself  unpresentable4 ,on trial they  
all found that they could be tolerated  
by1 and could tolerate1 each other4     
,nay1 the tendency to extreme           
self-respect which hesitated to join in 
a club was running rapidly down  to     
abject admiration of each other1 when   
the club was broken up by new           
combinations4    ,the use of the        
hospitality of the club hardly needs    
explanation4 ,men  are unbent and social
 at table2 and ,i remember it was       
explained to me1  in a ,southern city1  
that it was impossible to set any public
 charity  on foot unless through a      
tavern dinner4 ,i do not think our      
metropolitan  charities would plead the 

same necessity2 but to a club met for   
conversation a supper is a good basis1  
as it disarms all parties1 and  puts    
pedantry and business to the door4 ,all 
are in good-humor and at  leisure1 which
 are the first conditions of discourse2 
the ordinary  reserves are thrown off1  
experienced men meet with the freedom of
 boys1  and1 sooner or later1 impart all
 that is singular in their experience4  
,the hospitalities of clubs are easily  
exaggerated4 ,no doubt the suppers  of  
wits and philosophers acquire much      
lustre by time and renown4  ,plutarch1  
,xenophon1 and ,plato1 who have         
celebrated each a banquet of  their set1
 have given us next to no data of the   
viands2 and it is to  be believed that  
an indifferent tavern dinner in such    
society was more  relished by the       
convives than a much better one in worse
 company4  ,herrick's verses to ,ben    
,jonson no doubt paint the fact3--      
8,when we such clusters had    ,as made 
us nobly wild1 not mad2    ,and yet1    

each verse of thine    ,outdid the meat1
 outdid the frolic wine40    ,such      
friends make the feast satisfying2 and  
,i notice that it was when  things went 
prosperously1 and the company was full  
of honor1 at the  banquet of the ,cid1  
that 8the guests all were joyful1 and   
agreed in one  thing1--that they had not
 eaten better for three years40    ,i   
need only hint the value of the club for
 bringing masters in  their several arts
 to compare and expand their views1 to  
come to an  understanding on these      
points1 and so that their united opinion
 shall  have its just influence on      
public questions of education and       
politics4  ',tis agreed that in the     
sections of the ,british ,association   
more  information is mutually and       
effectually communicated1 in a few      
hours1  than in many months of ordinary 
correspondence1 and the printing and    
transmission of ponderous reports4 ,we  
know that l'homme de lettres  is a      
little wary1 and not fond of giving away

 his seed-corn2 but there  is an        
infallible way to draw him out1 namely1 
by having as good as  he4 ,if you have  
,tuscaroora and he ,canada1 he may      
exchange kernel for  kernel4 ,if his    
discretion is incurable1 and he dare not
 speak of fairy  gold1 he will yet tell 
what new books he has found1 what old   
ones  recovered1 what men write and read
 abroad4 ,a principal purpose also is   
the hospitality of the club1 as a means 
of receiving a worthy foreigner  with   
mutual advantage4    ,every man brings  
into society some partial thought and   
local culture4  ,we need range and      
alternation of topics1 and variety of   
minds4 ,one  likes in a companion a     
phlegm which it is a triumph to disturb1
 and1  not less1 to make in an old      
acquaintance unexpected discoveries of  
scope and power through the advantage of
 an inspiring subject4 ,wisdom  is like 
electricity4 ,there is no permanently   
wise man1 but men capable  of wisdom1   
who1 being put into certain company1 or 

other favorable  conditions1 become wise
 for a short time1 as glasses rubbed    
acquire  electric power for a while4    
,but1 while we look complacently at     
these  obvious pleasures and values of  
good companions1 ,i do not forget that  
,nature is always very much in earnest1 
and that her great gifts have  something
 serious and stern4 ,when we look for   
the highest benefits  of conversation1  
the ,spartan rule of one to one is      
usually enforced4  ,discourse1 when it  
rises highest and searches deepest1 when
 it lifts us  into that mood out of     
which thoughts come that remain as stars
 in our  firmament1 is between two4     
,,courage4          ,,courage4      ,i  
observe that there are three qualities  
which conspicuously attract  the wonder 
and reverence of mankind3--    #a4      
,disinterestedness1 as shown in         
indifference to the ordinary bribes  and
 influences of conduct1--a purpose so   
sincere and generous that it  cannot be 
tempted aside by any prospects of wealth

 or other private  advantage4 ,self-love
 is1 in almost all men1 such an         
overweight1 that  they are incredulous  
of a man's habitual preference of the   
general good  to his own2 but when they 
see it proved by sacrifices of ease1    
wealth1  rank1 and of life itself1 there
 is no limit to their admiration4 ,this 
has made the power of the saints of the 
,east and ,west1 who have led  the      
religion of great nations4              
,self-sacrifice is the real miracle out 
of which all the reported miracles grew4
 ,this makes the renown of the  heroes  
of ,greece and ,rome1--of ,socrates1    
,aristides1 and ,phocion2 of  ,quintus  
,curtius1 ,cato1 and ,regulus2 of ,hatem
 ,tai's hospitality2 of  ,chatham1 whose
 scornful magnanimity gave him immense  
popularity2 of  ,washington1 giving his 
service to the public without salary or 
reward4    #b4 ,practical power4 ,men   
admire the man who can organize their   
wishes  and thoughts in stone and wood  
and steel and brass1--the man who can   

build the boat1 who has the impiety to  
make the rivers run the way  he wants   
them1 who can lead his telegraph through
 the ocean from  shore to shore2 who1   
sitting in his closet1 can lay out the  
plans of  a campaign1--sea-war and      
land-war2 such that the best generals   
and  admirals1 when all is done1 see    
that they must thank him for success2   
the power of better combination and     
foresight1 however exhibited1  which1   
whether it only plays a game of chess1  
or whether1 more loftily1  a cunning    
mathematician1 penetrating the cubic    
weights of stars1  predicts the planet  
which eyes had never seen2 or whether1  
exploring  the chemical elements whereof
 we and the world are made1 and seeing  
their secret1 ,franklin draws off the   
lightning in his hand1 suggesting  that 
one day a wiser geology shall make the  
earthquake harmless and  the volcano an 
agricultural resource4 ,or here is one  
who1 seeing the  wishes of men1 knows   
how to come at their end2 whispers to   

this friend1  argues down that          
adversary1 moulds society to his        
purpose1 and looks at  all men as wax   
for his hands1--takes command of them as
 the wind does  of clouds1 as the mother
 does of the child1 or the man that     
knows more  does of the man that knows  
less2 and leads them in glad surprise to
 the  very point where they would be3   
this man is followed with acclamation4  
#c4 ,the third excellence is courage1   
the perfect will1 which no terrors  can 
shake1 which is attracted by frowns or  
threats or hostile armies1  nay1 needs  
these to awake and fan its reserved     
energies into a pure  flame1 and is     
never quite itself until the hazard is  
extreme2 then  it is serene and fertile1
 and all its powers play well4 ,there is
 a  ,hercules1 an ,achilles1 a ,rustem1 
an ,arthur1 or a ,cid in the mythology  
of every nation2 and in authentic       
history1 a ,leonidas1 a ,scipio1 a      
,csar1 a ,richard ,cur de ,lion1 a      
,cromwell1 a ,nelson1 a ,great ,cond1 a 

,bertrand du ,guesclin1 a ,doge         
,dandolo1 a ,napoleon1 a ,massena1 and  
,ney4  ',tis said courage is common1 but
 the immense esteem in which it is  held
 proves it to be rare4 ,animal          
resistance1 the instinct of the male    
animal when cornered1 is no doubt       
common2 but the pure article1 courage   
with eyes1 courage with conduct1        
self-possession at the cannon's mouth1  
cheerfulness in lonely adherence to the 
right1 is the endowment of  elevated    
characters4 ,i need not show how much it
 is esteemed1 for the  people give it   
the first rank4 ,they forgive everything
 to it4 ,what an  ado we make through   
two thousand years about ,thermopyl and 
,salamis6  ,what a memory of ,poitiers  
and ,crecy1 and ,bunker ,hill1 and      
,washington's  endurance6 ,and any man  
who puts his life in peril in a cause   
which  is esteemed becomes the darling  
of all men4 ,the very nursery-books1    
the ballads which delight boys1 the     
romances which delight men1 the         

favorite topics of eloquence1 the       
thunderous emphasis which orators  give 
to every martial defiance and passage of
 arms1 and which the  people greet1 may 
testify4 ,how short a time since this   
whole nation  rose every morning to read
 or to hear the traits of courage of its
 sons  and brothers in the field1 and   
was never weary of the theme6 ,we have  
had examples of men who1 for showing    
effective courage on a single  occasion1
 have become a favorite spectacle to    
nations1 and must be  brought in        
chariots to every mass meeting4    ,men 
are so charmed with valor1 that they    
have pleased themselves with  being     
called lions1 leopards1 eagles1 and     
dragons1 from the animals  contemporary 
with us in the geologic formations4 ,but
 the animals have  great advantage of us
 in precocity4 ,touch the               
snapping-turtle with a  stick1 and he   
seizes it with his teeth4 ,cut off his  
head1 and the teeth  will not let go the
 stick4 ,break the egg of the young1 and

 the little  embryo1 before yet the eyes
 are open1 bites fiercely2 these        
vivacious  creatures contriving1--shall 
we say8--not only to bite after they are
  dead1 but also to bite before they are
 born4    ,but man begins life helpless4
 ,the babe is in paroxysms of fear the  
moment its nurse leaves it alone1 and it
 comes so slowly to any power  of       
self-protection1 that mothers say the   
salvation of the life and  health of a  
young child is a perpetual miracle4 ,the
 terrors of the  child are quite        
reasonable1 and add to his loveliness2  
for his utter  ignorance and weakness1  
and his enchanting indignation on such a
 small  basis of capital1 compel every  
by-stander to take his part4 ,every     
moment1 as long as he is awake1 he      
studies the use of his eyes1 ears1      
hands1 and feet1 learning how to meet   
and avoid his dangers1 and thus  every  
hour loses one terror more4 ,but this   
education stops too soon4  ,a large     
majority of men being bred in families1 

and beginning early  to be occupied day 
by day with some routine of safe        
industry1 never  come to the rough      
experiences that make the ,indian1 the  
soldier1 or  the frontiersman           
self-subsistent and fearless4 ,hence the
 high price  of courage indicates the   
general timidity4 8,mankind10 said      
,franklin1  8are dastardly when they    
meet with opposition40 ,in war even1    
generals  are seldom found eager to give
 battle4 ,lord ,wellington said1        
8,uniforms  were often masks02 and      
again1 8,when my journal appears1 many  
statues  must come down40 ,the ,norse   
,sagas relate that when ,bishop ,magne  
reproved  ,king ,sigurd for his wicked  
divorce1 the priest who attended the    
bishop1  expecting every moment when the
 savage king would burst with rage  and 
slay his superior1 said 8that he saw the
 sky no bigger than a  calf-skin40 ,and 
,i remember when a pair of ,irish girls1
 who had been run  away with in a wagon 
by a skittish horse1 said that1 when he 

began to  rear1 they were so frightened 
that they could not see the horse4      
,cowardice shuts the eyes till the sky  
is not larger than a calf-skin2  shuts  
the eyes so that we cannot see the horse
 that is running away  with us2 worse1  
shuts the eyes of the mind and chills   
the heart4 ,fear  is cruel and mean4    
,the political reigns of terror have    
been reigns  of madness and             
malignity1--a total perversion of       
opinion2 society is  upside down1 and   
its best men are thought too bad to     
live4 ,then the  protection which a     
house1 a family1 neighborhood and       
property1 even  the first accumulation  
of savings1 gives go in all times to    
generate  this taint of the respectable 
classes4 ,voltaire said1 8,one of the   
chief misfortunes of honest people is   
that they are cowardly40 ,those         
political parties which gather-in the   
well-disposed portion of the            
community1--how infirm and ignoble6 what
 white lips they have6 always  on the   

defensive1 as if the lead were intrusted
 to the journals1 often  written in     
great part by women and boys1 who1      
without strength1 wish  to keep up the  
appearance of strength4 ,they can do the
 hurras1 the  placarding1 the           
flags1--and the voting1 if it is a fair 
day2 but the  aggressive attitude of men
 who will have right done1 will no      
longer be  bothered with burglars and   
ruffians in the streets1 counterfeiters 
in  public offices1 and thieves on the  
bench2 that part1 the part of the       
leader and soul of the vigilance        
committee1 must be taken by stout and   
sincere men who are really angry and    
determined4 ,in ordinary1 we have  a    
snappish criticism which watches and    
contradicts the opposite party4  ,we    
want the will which advances and        
dictates4 ,when we get an advantage1  as
 in ,congress the other day1 it is      
because our adversary has committed  a  
fault1 not that we have taken the       
initiative and given the law4  ,nature  

has made up her mind that what cannot   
defend itself shall not be  defended4   
,complaining never so loud1 and with    
never so much reason1 is  of no use4    
,one heard much cant of peace-parties   
long ago in ,kansas and  elsewhere1 that
 their strength lay in the greatness of 
their wrongs1  and dissuading all       
resistance1 as if to make this strength 
greater4 ,but  were their wrongs greater
 than the negro's8 and what kind of     
strength  did they ever give him8 ,it   
was always invitation to the tyrant1 and
  bred disgust in those who would       
protect the victim4 ,what cannot stand  
must fall2 and the measure of our       
sincerity1 and therefore of the  respect
 of men1 is the amount of health and    
wealth we will hazard in  the defence of
 our right4 ,an old farmer1 my neighbor 
across the fence1  when ,i ask him if he
 is not going to town-meeting1 says3    
8,no2 'tis no  use balloting1 for it    
will not stay2 but what you do with the 
gun will  stay so40 ,nature has charged 

every one with his own defence as with  
his own support1 and the only title ,i  
can have to your help is when ,i  have  
manfully put forth all the means ,i     
possess to keep me1 and1 being          
overborne by odds1 the by-standers have 
a natural wish to interfere  and see    
fair play4    ,but with this pacific    
education1 we have no readiness for bad 
times4  ,i am much mistaken if every man
 who went to the army in the late war   
had not a lively curiosity to know how  
he should behave in action4  ,tender1   
amiable boys1 who had never encountered 
any rougher play than  a base-ball match
 or a fishing excursion1 were suddenly  
drawn up to  face a bayonet charge or   
capture a battery4 ,of course1 they must
 each  go into that action with a       
certain despair4 ,each whispers to      
himself3  8,my exertions must be of     
small account to the result2 only will  
the  benignant ,heaven save me from     
disgracing myself and my friends and my 
,state4 ,die6 ,o yes1 ,i can well die2  

but ,i cannot afford to misbehave2  and 
,i do not know how ,i shall feel40 ,so  
great a soldier as the old  ,french     
,marshal ,montluc acknowledges that he  
has often trembled with  fear1 and      
recovered courage when he had said a    
prayer for the occasion4  ,i knew a     
young soldier who died in the early     
campaign1 who confided to  his sister   
that he had made up his mind to         
volunteer for the war4 8,i  have not10  
he said1 8any proper courage1 but ,i    
shall never let any one  find it out40  
,and he had accustomed himself always to
 go into whatever  place of danger1 and 
do whatever he was afraid to do1 setting
 a dogged  resolution to resist this    
natural infirmity4 ,coleridge has       
preserved  an anecdote of an officer in 
the ,british ,navy1 who told him that   
when  he1 in his first boat expedition1 
a midshipman in his fourteenth year1    
accompanied ,sir ,alexander ,ball1 8as  
we were rowing up to the vessel we  were
 to attack1 amid a discharge of         

musketry1 ,i was overpowered with  fear1
 my knees shook1 and ,i was ready to    
faint away4 ,lieutenant ,ball  seeing   
me1 placed himself close beside me1 took
 hold of my hand and  whispered1        
#8,courage1 my dear boy6 you will       
recover in a minute or so2 ,i  was just 
the same when ,i first went out in this 
way4' ,it was as if an  angel spoke to  
me4 ,from that moment ,i was as fearless
 and as forward  as the oldest of the   
boat's crew4 ,but ,i dare not think what
 would have  become of me1 if1 at that  
moment1 he had scoffed and exposed me40 
,knowledge is the antidote to           
fear1--,knowledge1 ,use1 and ,reason1   
with  its higher aids4 ,the child is as 
much in danger from a staircase1  or the
 fire-grate1 or a bath-tub1 or a cat1 as
 the soldier from a  cannon or an       
ambush4 ,each surmounts the fear as fast
 as he precisely  understands the peril1
 and learns the means of resistance4    
,each is  liable to panic1 which is1    
exactly1 the terror of ignorance        

surrendered  to the imagination4        
,knowledge is the encourager1 knowledge 
that takes  fear out of the heart1      
knowledge and use1 which is knowledge in
  practice4 ,they can conquer who       
believe they can4 ,it is he who has done
  the deed once who does not shrink from
 attempting it again4 ,it is the  groom 
who knows the jumping horse well who can
 safely ride him4 ,it is  the veteran   
soldier1 who1 seeing the flash of the   
cannon1 can step  aside from the path of
 the ball4 ,use makes a better soldier  
than the  most urgent considerations of 
duty1--familiarity with danger enabling 
him to estimate the danger4 ,he sees how
 much is the risk1 and is not  afflicted
 with imagination2 knows practically    
,marshal ,saxe's rule1 that  every      
soldier killed costs the enemy his      
weight in lead4    ,the sailor loses    
fear as fast as he acquires command of  
sails and  spars and steam2 the         
frontiersman1 when he has a perfect     
rifle and has  acquired a sure aim4 ,to 

the sailor's experience every new       
circumstance  suggests what he must do4 
,the terrific chances which make the    
hours  and the minutes long to the      
passenger1 he whiles away by incessant  
application of expedients and repairs4  
,to him a leak1 a hurricane1 or  a      
water-spout is so much work--no more4   
,the hunter is not alarmed by  bears1   
catamounts1 or wolves1 nor the grazier  
by his bull1 nor the  dog-breeder by his
 bloodhound1 nor an ,arab by the simoom1
 nor a farmer  by a fire in the woods4  
,the forest on fire looks discouraging  
enough  to a citizen3 the farmer is     
skilful to fight it4 ,the neighbors run 
together2 with pine boughs they can mop 
out the flame1 and1 by raking  with the 
hoe a long but little trench1 confine to
 a patch the fire  which would easily   
spread over a hundred acres4    ,in     
short1 courage consists in equality to  
the problem before us4 ,the  school-boy 
is daunted before his tutor by a        
question of arithmetic1  because he does

 not yet command the simple steps of the
 solution which  the boy beside him has 
mastered4 ,these once seen1 he is as    
cool as  ,archimedes1 and cheerily      
proceeds a step farther4 ,courage is    
equality  to the problem1 in affairs1 in
 science1 in trade1 in council1 or in   
action2 consists in the conviction that 
the agents with whom you  contend are   
not superior in strength or resources or
 spirit to you4  ,the general must      
stimulate the mind of his soldiers to   
the perception  that they are men1 and  
the enemy is no more4 ,knowledge1 yes2  
for the  danger of dangers is illusion4 
,the eye is easily daunted2 and the     
drums1 flags1 shining helmets1 beard1   
and mustache of the soldier have        
conquered you long before his sword or  
bayonet reaches you4    ,but we do not  
exhaust the subject in the slight       
analysis2 we must not  forget the       
variety of temperaments1 each of which  
qualifies this power  of resistance4 ,it
 is observed that men with little       

imagination are  less fearful2 they wait
 till they feel pain1 whilst others of  
more  sensibility anticipate it1 and    
suffer in the fear of the pang more     
acutely than in the pang4 ',tis certain 
that the threat is sometimes  more      
formidable than the stroke1 and 'tis    
possible that the beholders  suffer more
 keenly than the victims4 ,bodily pain  
is superficial1 seated  usually in the  
skin and the extremities1 for the sake  
of giving us  warning to put us on our  
guard2 not in the vitals1 where the     
rupture  that produces death is perhaps 
not felt1 and the victim never knew what
  hurt him4 ,pain is superficial1 and   
therefore fear is4 ,the torments  of    
martyrdoms are probably most keenly felt
 by the by-standers4 ,the  torments are 
illusory4 ,the first suffering is the   
last suffering1 the  later hurts being  
lost on insensibility4 ,our affections  
and wishes for  the external welfare of 
the hero tumultuously rush to expression
 in  tears and outcries2 but we1 like   

him1 subside into indifferency and      
defiance1 when we perceive how short is 
the longest arm of malice1 how  serene  
is the sufferer4    ,it is plain that   
there is no separate essence called     
courage1 no cup  or cell in the brain1  
no vessel in the heart containing drops 
or atoms  that make or give this virtue2
 but it is the right or healthy state of
  every man1 when he is free to do that 
which is constitutional to him to  do4  
,it is directness1--the instant         
performing of that which he ought4  ,the
 thoughtful man says1 you differ from me
 in opinion and methods2 but  do you not
 see that ,i cannot think or act        
otherwise than ,i do8 that my  way of   
living is organic8 ,and to be really    
strong we must adhere to  our own means4
 ,on organic action all strength        
depends4 ,hear what women  say of doing 
a task by sheer force of will3 it costs 
them a fit of  sickness4 ,plutarch      
relates that the ,pythoness who tried to
 prophesy  without command in the       

,temple at ,delphi1 though she performed
 the  usual rites1 and inhaled the air  
of the cavern standing on the tripod1   
fell into convulsions1 and died4        
,undoubtedly there is a temperamental   
courage1 a warlike blood1 which loves a 
fight1 does not feel itself  except in a
 quarrel1 as one sees in wasps1 or ants1
 or cocks1 or cats4  ,the like vein     
appears in certain races of men and in  
individuals of  every race4 ,in every   
school there are certain fighting boys2 
in every  society1 the contradicting    
men2 in every town1 bravoes and bullies1
  better or worse dressed1 fancy-men1   
patrons of the cock-pit and the  ring4  
,courage is temperamental1 scientific1  
ideal4 ,swedenborg has left  this record
 of his king3 8,charles ,,xii41 of      
,sweden1 did not know what  that was    
which others called fear1 nor what that 
spurious valor and  daring that is      
excited by inebriating draughts1 for he 
never tasted  any liquid but pure water4
 ,of him we may say1 that he led a life 

more  remote from death1 and in fact    
lived more1 than any other man40 ,it was
  told of the ,prince of ,cond1 8that   
there not being a more furious man  in  
the world1 danger in fight never        
disturbs him more than just to make  him
 civil1 and to command in words of great
 obligation to his officers  and men1   
and without any the least disturbance to
 his judgment or  spirit40 ,each has his
 own courage1 as his own talent2 but the
 courage  of the tiger is one1 and of   
the horse another4 ,the dog that scorns 
to  fight1 will fight for his master4   
,the llama that will carry a load if    
you caress him1 will refuse food and die
 if he is scourged4 ,the fury  of onset 
is one1 and of calm endurance another4  
,there is a courage of  the cabinet as  
well as a courage of the field2 a       
courage of manners in  private          
assemblies1 and another in public       
assemblies2 a courage which  enables one
 man to speak masterly to a hostile     
company1 whilst another  man who can    

easily face a cannon's mouth dares not  
open his own4    ,there is a courage of 
a merchant in dealing with his trade1 by
 which  dangerous turns of affairs are  
met and prevailed over4 ,merchants      
recognize as much gallantry1 well judged
 too1 in the conduct of a wise  and     
upright man of business1 in difficult   
times1 as soldiers in a  soldier4       
,there is a courage in the treatment of 
every art by a master in  architecture1 
in sculpture1 in painting1 or in poetry1
 each cheering  the mind of the         
spectator or receiver as by true strokes
 of genius1  which yet nowise implies   
the presence of physical valor in the   
artist4  ,this is the courage of genius1
 in every kind4 ,a certain quantity of  
power belongs to a certain quantity of  
faculty4 ,the beautiful voice at  church
 goes sounding on1 and covers up in its 
volume1 as in a cloak1  all the defects 
of the choir4 ,the singers1 ,i observe1 
all yield to it1  and so the fair singer
 indulges her instinct1 and dares1 and  

dares1  because she knows she can4      
,it gives the cutting edge to every     
profession4 ,the judge puts his  mind to
 the tangle of contradictions in the    
case1 squarely accosts  the question1   
and1 by not being afraid of it1 by      
dealing with it as  business which must 
be disposed of1 he sees presently that  
common  arithmetic and common methods   
apply to this affair4 ,perseverance     
strips it of all peculiarity1 and ranges
 it on the same ground as  other        
business4 ,morphy played a daring game  
in chess3 the daring was  only an       
illusion of the spectator1 for the      
player sees his move to be  well        
fortified and safe4 ,you may see the    
same dealing in criticism2  a new book  
astonishes for a few days1 takes itself 
out of common  jurisdiction1 and nobody 
knows what to say of it3 but the scholar
 is  not deceived4 ,the old principles  
which books exist to express are more   
beautiful than any book2 and out of love
 of the reality he is an expert  judge  

how far the book has approached it and  
where it has come short4  ,in all       
applications 'tis the same power1--the  
habit of reference to  one's own mind1  
as the home of all truth and counsel1   
and which can  easily dispose of any    
book because it can very well do without
 all  books4 ,when a confident man comes
 into a company magnifying this or  that
 author he has freshly read1 the company
 grow silent and ashamed of  their      
ignorance4 ,but ,i remember the old     
professor1 whose searching mind         
engraved every word he spoke on the     
memory of the class1 when we asked  if  
he had read this or that shining        
novelty1 8,no1 ,i have never read  that 
book02 instantly the book lost credit1  
and was not to be heard of  again4      
,every creature has a courage of his    
constitution fit for his                
duties3--,archimedes1 the courage of a  
geometer to stick to his diagram1       
heedless of the siege and sack of the   
city2 and the ,roman soldier his        

faculty to strike at ,archimedes4 ,each 
is strong1 relying on his own1  and each
 is betrayed when he seeks in himself   
the courage of others4    ,captain ,john
 ,brown1 the hero of ,kansas1 said to me
 in conversation1  that 8for a settler  
in a new country1 one good1 believing1  
strong-minded man is worth a hundred1   
nay1 a thousand men without  character2 
and that the right men will give a      
permanent direction to  the fortunes of 
a state4 ,as for the bullying drunkards1
 of which armies  are usually made up1  
he thought cholera1 small-pox1 and      
consumption as  valuable recruits40 ,he 
held the belief that courage and        
chastity are  silent concerning         
themselves4 ,he said1 8,as soon as ,i   
hear one of my men  say1 #8,ah1 let me  
only get my eye on such a man1 ,i'll    
bring him down1'  ,i don't expect much  
aid in the fight from that talker4 ',tis
 the quiet1  peaceable men1 the men of  
principle1 that make the best soldiers40
      8',tis still observed those men   

most valiant are    ,who are most modest
 ere they came to war40    ,true courage
 is not ostentatious2 men who wish to   
inspire terror seem  thereby to confess 
themselves cowards4 ,why do they rely on
 it1 but  because they know how potent  
it is with themselves8    ,the true     
temper has genial influences4 ,it makes 
a bond of union  between enemies4       
,governor ,wise of ,virginia1 in the    
record of his  first interviews with his
 prisoner1 appeared to great advantage4 
,if  ,governor ,wise is a superior man1 
or inasmuch as he is a superior man1  he
 distinguishes ,john ,brown4 ,as they   
confer1 they understand each other      
swiftly2 each respects the other4 ,if   
opportunity allowed1 they would  prefer 
each other's society and desert their   
former companions4 ,enemies  would      
become affectionate4 ,hector and        
,achilles1 ,richard and ,saladin1       
,wellington and ,soult1 ,general ,daumas
 and ,abdel ,kader1 become aware that   
they are nearer and more alike than any 

other two1 and1 if their nation  and    
circumstance did not keep them apart1   
would run into each other's  arms4      
,see too what good contagion belongs to 
it4 ,everywhere it finds its  own with  
magnetic affinity4 ,courage of the      
soldier awakes the courage  of woman4   
,florence ,nightingale brings lint and  
the blessing of her  shadow4 ,heroic    
women offer themselves as nurses of the 
brave veteran4  ,the troop of ,virginian
 infantry that had marched to guard the 
prison  of ,john ,brown ask leave to pay
 their respects to the prisoner4 ,poetry
  and eloquence catch the hint1 and soar
 to a pitch unknown before4  ,everything
 feels the new breath1 except the old   
doting1 nigh-dead  politicians1 whose   
heart the trumpet of resurrection could 
not wake4    ,the charm of the best     
courages is that they are inventions1   
inspirations1 flashes of genius4 ,the   
hero could not have done the  feat at   
another hour1 in a lower mood4 ,the best
 act of the marvellous  genius of       

,greece was its first act2 not in the   
statue or the ,parthenon1  but in the   
instinct which1 at ,thermopyl1 held     
,asia at bay1 kept ,asia  out of        
,europe1--,asia with its antiquities and
 organic slavery1--from  corrupting the 
hope and new morning of the ,west4 ,the 
statue1 the  architecture1 were the     
later and inferior creation of the same 
genius4 ,in view of this moment of      
history1 we recognize a certain         
prophetic instinct better than wisdom4  
,napoleon said well1 8,my hand  is      
immediately connected with my head02 but
 the sacred courage is  connected with  
the heart4 ,the head is a half1 a       
fraction1 until it is  enlarged and     
inspired by the moral sentiment4 ,for it
 is not the means  on which we draw1 as 
health or wealth1 practical skill or    
dexterous  talent1 or multitudes of     
followers1 that count1 but the aims     
only4 ,the  aim reacts back on the      
means4 ,a great aim aggrandizes the     
means4 ,the  meal and water that are the

 commissariat of the forlorn hope that  
stake their lives to defend the pass are
 sacred as the ,holy ,grail1 or  as if  
one had eyes to see in chemistry the    
fuel that is rushing to feed  the sun4  
,there is a persuasion in the soul of   
man that he is here for cause1  that he 
was put down in this place by the       
,creator to do the work for  which he   
inspires him1 that thus he is an        
overmatch for all antagonists  that     
could combine against him4 ,the pious   
,mrs4 ,hutchinson says of some  passages
 in the defence of ,nottingham against  
the ,cavaliers1 8,it was a  great       
instruction that the best and highest   
courages are beams of the  ,almighty40  
,and whenever the religious sentiment is
 adequately affirmed1  it must be with  
dazzling courage4 ,as long as it is     
cowardly insinuated1  as with the wish  
to succor some partial and temporary    
interest1 or to  make it affirm some    
pragmatical tenet which our parish      
church receives  to-day1 it is not      

imparted1 and cannot inspire or create4 
,for it is  always new1 leads and       
surprises1 and practice never comes up  
with it4  ,there are ever appearing in  
the world men who1 almost as soon as    
they  are born1 take a bee-line to the  
rack of the inquisitor1 the axe of the  
tyrant1 like ,jordano ,bruno1 ,vanini1  
,huss1 ,paul1 ,jesus1 and ,socrates4    
,look at ,fox's ,lives of the ,martyrs1 
,sewel's ,history of the ,quakers1      
,southey's ,book of the ,church1 at the 
folios of the ,brothers ,bollandi1  who 
collected the lives of twenty-five      
thousand martyrs1 confessors1  ascetics1
 and self-tormentors4 ,there is much of 
fable1 but a broad  basis of fact4 ,the 
tender skin does not shrink from        
bayonets1 the timid  woman is not scared
 by fagots2 the rack is not frightful1  
nor the rope  ignominious4 ,the poor    
,puritan1 ,antony ,parsons1 at the      
stake1 tied straw  on his head1 when the
 fire approached him1 and said1 8,this  
is ,god's  hat40 ,sacred courage        

indicates that a man loves an idea      
better than all  things in the world2   
that he is aiming neither at pelf or    
comfort1 but  will venture all to put in
 act the invisible thought in his mind4 
,he  is everywhere a liberator1 but of a
 freedom that is ideal2 not seeking  to 
have land or money or conveniences1 but 
to have no other limitation  than that  
which his own constitution imposes4 ,he 
is free to speak  truth2 he is not free 
to lie4 ,he wishes to break every yoke  
all over  the world which hinders his   
brother from acting after his thought4  
,there are degrees of courage1 and each 
step upward makes us acquainted  with a 
higher virtue4 ,let us say then frankly 
that the education of  the will is the  
object of our existence4 ,poverty1 the  
prison1 the  rack1 the fire1 the hatred 
and execrations of our fellow-men1      
appear  trials beyond the endurance of  
common humanity2 but to the hero whose  
intellect is aggrandized by the soul1   
and so measures these penalties  against

 the good which his thought surveys1    
these terrors vanish as  darkness at    
sunrise4    ,we have little right in    
piping times of peace to pronounce on   
these  rare heights of character2 but   
there is no assurance of security4 ,in  
the most private life1 difficult duty is
 never far off4 ,therefore  we must     
think with courage4 ,scholars and       
thinkers are prone to an  effeminate    
habit1 and shrink if a coarser shout    
comes up from the  street1 or a brutal  
act is recorded in the journals4 ,the   
,medical  ,college piles up in its      
museum its grim monsters of morbid      
anatomy1  and there are melancholy      
sceptics with a taste for carrion who   
batten  on the hideous facts in         
history1--persecutions1 inquisitions1   
,st4  ,bartholomew massacres1 devilish  
lives1 ,nero1 ,csar1 ,borgia1 ,marat1   
,lopez1--men in whom every ray of       
humanity was extinguished1 parricides1  
matricides1 and whatever moral monsters4
 ,these are not cheerful facts1  but    

they do not disturb a healthy mind2 they
 require of us a patience  as robust as 
the energy that attacks us1 and an      
unresting exploration  of final causes4 
,wolf1 snake1 and crocodile are not     
inharmonious in  nature1 but are made   
useful as checks1 scavengers1 and       
pioneers2 and  we must have a scope as  
large as ,nature's to deal with         
beast-like men1  detect what scullion   
function is assigned them1 and foresee  
in the  secular melioration of the      
planet how these will become            
unnecessary1  and will die out4    ,he  
has not learned the lesson of life who  
does not every day surmount  a fear4 ,i 
do not wish to put myself or any man    
into a theatrical  position1 or urge him
 to ape the courage of his comrade4     
,have the  courage not to adopt         
another's courage4 ,there is scope and  
cause and  resistance enough for us in  
our proper work and circumstance4 ,and  
there is no creed of an honest man1 be  
he ,christian1 ,turk1 or ,gentoo1  which

 does not equally preach it4 ,if you    
have no faith in beneficent  power above
 you1 but see only an adamantine fate   
coiling its folds  about nature and man1
 then reflect that the best use of fate 
is to  teach us courage1 if only because
 baseness cannot change the appointed   
event4 ,if you accept your thoughts as  
inspirations from the ,supreme          
,intelligence1 obey them when they      
prescribe difficult duties1 because     
they come only so long as they are used2
 or1 if your scepticism reaches  to the 
last verge1 and you have no confidence  
in any foreign mind1 then  be brave1    
because there is one good opinion which 
must always be of  consequence to you1  
namely1 your own4           99       99 
99       99       99    ,i am permitted 
to enrich my chapter by adding an       
anecdote of pure  courage from real     
life1 as narrated in a ballad by a lady 
to whom all  the particulars of the fact
 are exactly known4      ,,george       
,,nidiver4      ,men have done brave    

deeds1      ,and bards have sung them   
well3    ,i of good ,george ,nidiver    
,now the tale will tell4      ,in       
,californian mountains      ,a hunter   
bold was he3    ,keen his eye and sure  
his aim      ,as any you should see4    
,a little ,indian boy      ,followed him
 everywhere1    ,eager to share the     
hunter's joy1      ,the hunter's meal to
 share4      ,and when the bird or deer 
,fell by the hunter's skill1    ,the boy
 was always near      ,to help with     
right good-will4      ,one day as       
through the cleft      ,between two     
mountains steep1    ,shut in both right 
and left1      ,their questing way they 
keep1      ,they see two grizzly bears  
,with hunger fierce and fell    ,rush at
 them unawares      ,right down the     
narrow dell4      ,the boy turned round 
with screams1      ,and ran with terror 
wild2    ,one of the pair of savage     
beasts      ,pursued the shrieking      
child4      ,the hunter raised his      
gun1--      ,he knew one charge was     

all1--    ,and through the boy's        
pursuing foe      ,he sent his only     
ball4      ,the other on ,george        
,nidiver      ,came on with dreadful    
pace3    ,the hunter stood unarmed1     
,and met him face to face4      ,i say  
unarmed he stood4      ,against those   
frightful paws    ,the rifle but1 or    
club of wood1      ,could stand no more 
than straws4      ,george ,nidiver stood
 still      ,and looked him in the face2
    ,the wild beast stopped amazed1     
,then came with slackening pace4        
,still firm the hunter stood1           
,although his heart beat high2    ,again
 the creature stopped1      ,and gazed  
with wondering eye4      ,the hunter met
 his gaze1      ,nor yet an inch gave   
way2    ,the bear turned slowly round1  
,and slowly moved away4      ,what      
thoughts were in his mind      ,it would
 be hard to spell3    ,what thoughts    
were in ,george ,nidiver      ,i rather 
guess than tell4      ,but sure that    
rifle's aim1      ,swift choice of      

generous part1    ,showed in its passing
 gleam      ,the depths of a brave      
heart4          ,,success4              
,,success4      ,our ,american people   
cannot be taxed with slowness in        
performance or  in praising their       
performance4 ,the earth is shaken by our
 engineries4  ,we are feeling our youth 
and nerve and bone4 ,we have the power  
of  territory and of sea-coast1 and know
 the use of these4 ,we count our        
census1 we read our growing valuations1 
we survey our map1 which  becomes old in
 a year or two4 ,our eyes run           
approvingly along the  lengthened lines 
of railroad and telegraph4 ,we have gone
 nearest to  the ,pole4 ,we have        
discovered the ,antarctic continent4 ,we
 interfere in  ,central and ,south      
,america1 at ,canton1 and in ,japan2 we 
are adding to an  already enormous      
territory4 ,our political constitution  
is the hope of  the world1 and we value 
ourselves on all these feats4    ',tis  
the way of the world2 'tis the law of   

youth1 and of unfolding  strength4 ,men 
are made each with some triumphant      
superiority1 which1  through some       
adaptation of fingers1 or ear1 or eye1  
or ciphering1 or  pugilistic or musical 
or literary craft1 enriches the         
community with a  new art2 and not only 
we1 but all men of ,european stock value
 these  certificates4 ,giotto could draw
 a perfect circle2 ,erwin of ,steinbach 
could build a minster2 ,olaf1 king of   
,norway1 could run round his  galley on 
the blades of the oars of the rowers1   
when the ship was in  motion2 ,ojeda    
could run out swiftly on a plank        
projected from the top  of a tower1 turn
 round swiftly1 and come back2 ,evelyn  
writes from  ,rome3 8,bernini1 the      
,florentine sculptor1 architect1        
painter1 and poet1  a little before my  
coming to ,rome1 gave a public opera1   
wherein he  painted the scenes1 cut the 
statues1 invented the engines1 composed 
the  music1 writ the comedy1 and built  
the theatre40    8,there is nothing in  

war10 said ,napoleon1 8which ,i cannot  
do by my  own hands4 ,if there is nobody
 to make gunpowder1 ,i can manufacture  
it4 ,the gun-carriages ,i know how to   
construct4 ,if it is necessary to  make 
cannons at the forge1 ,i can make them4 
,the details of working  them in battle1
 if it is necessary to teach1 ,i shall  
teach them4 ,in  administration1 it is  
,i alone who have arranged the finances1
 as you  know40    ,it is recorded of   
,linnus1 among many proofs of his       
beneficent skill1  that when the timber 
in the shipyards of ,sweden was ruined  
by rot1  ,linnus was desired by the     
government to find a remedy4 ,he studied
 the  insects that infested the timber1 
and found that they laid their eggs  in 
the logs within certain days in ,april1 
and he directed that during  ten days at
 that season the logs should be immersed
 under water in the  docks2 which being 
done the timber was found to be         
uninjured4    ,columbus at ,veragua     
found plenty of gold2 but leaving the   

coast1 the  ship full of one hundred and
 fifty skilful seamen1--some of them old
  pilots1 and with too much experience  
of their craft and treachery to         
him1--the wise admiral kept his private 
record of his homeward path4  ,and when 
he reached ,spain1 he told the ,king and
 ,queen1 8that they may  ask all the    
pilots who came with him1 where is      
,veragua4 ,let them answer  and say1 if 
they know where ,veragua lies4 ,i assert
 that they can give  no other account   
than that they went to lands where there
 was abundance  of gold1 but they do not
 know the way to return thither1 but    
would be  obliged to go on a voyage of  
discovery as much as if they had never  
been there before4 ,there is a mode of  
reckoning10 he proudly adds1  8derived  
from astronomy1 which is sure and safe  
to any who understands  it40            
,hippocrates in ,greece knew how to stay
 the devouring plague which  ravaged    
,athens in his time1 and his skill died 
with him4 ,dr4 ,benjamin  ,rush1 in     

,philadelphia1 carried that city        
heroically through the yellow  fever of 
the year #agic4 ,leverrier carries the  
,copernican system in  his head1 and    
knew where to look for the new planet4  
,we have seen an  ,american woman write 
a novel of which a million copies were  
sold in  all languages1 and which had   
one merit1 of speaking to the universal 
heart1 and was read with equal interest 
to three audiences1 namely1  in the     
parlor1 in the kitchen1 and in the      
nursery of every house4 ,we  have seen  
women who could institute hospitals and 
schools in armies4  ,we have seen a     
woman who by pure song could melt the   
souls of whole  populations4 ,and there 
is no limit to these varieties of       
talent4    ,these are arts to be        
thankful for1--each one as it is a new  
direction  of human power4 ,we cannot   
choose but respect them4 ,our           
civilization  is made up of a million   
contributions of this kind4 ,for        
success1 to  be sure1 we esteem it a    

test in other people1 since we do first 
in  ourselves4 ,we respect ourselves    
more if we have succeeded4 ,neither do  
we grudge to each of these benefactors  
the praise or the profit which  accrues 
from his industry4    ,here are already 
quite different degrees of moral merit  
in these  examples4 ,i don't know but we
 and our race elsewhere set a higher    
value  on wealth1 victory1 and coarse   
superiority of all kinds1 than other    
men1--have less tranquillity of mind1   
are less easily contented4 ,the  ,saxon 
is taught from his infancy to wish to be
 first4 ,the ,norseman  was a restless  
rider1 fighter1 freebooter4 ,the ancient
 ,norse ballads  describe him as        
afflicted with this inextinguishable    
thirst of victory4  ,the mother says to 
her son3--      8,success shall be in   
thy courser tall1    ,success in        
thyself1 which is best of all1          
,success in thy hand1 success in thy    
foot1    ,in struggle with man1 in      
battle with brute3--    ,the holy ,god  

and ,saint ,drothin dear    ,shall never
 shut eyes on thy career2          ,look
 out1 look out1 ,svend ,vonved60        
,these feats that we extol do not       
signify so much as we say4 ,these       
boasted arts are of very recent origin4 
,they are local conveniences1  but do   
not really add to our stature4 ,the     
greatest men of the world  have managed 
not to want them4 ,newton was a great   
man1 without  telegraph1 or gas1 or     
steam-coach1 or rubber-shoes1 or        
lucifer-matches1  or ether for his pain2
 so was ,shakspeare1 and ,alfred1 and   
,scipio1 and  ,socrates4 ,these are     
local conveniences1 but how easy to go  
now to parts  of the world where not    
only all these arts are wanting1 but    
where they  are despised4 ,the ,arabian 
sheiks1 the most dignified people in the
  planet1 do not want them2 yet have as 
much self-respect as the ,english1  and 
are easily able to impress the          
,frenchman or the ,american who visits  
them with the respect due to a brave and

 sufficient man4    ,these feats have1  
to be sure1 great difference of merit   
and some of  them involve power of a    
high kind4 ,but the public values the   
invention  more than the inventor does4 
,the inventor knows there is much more  
and  better where this came from4 ,the  
public sees in it a lucrative secret4   
,men see the reward which the inventor  
enjoys1 and they think1 #8,how  shall we
 win that8' ,cause and effect are a     
little tedious2 how to  leap to the     
result by short or by false means8 ,we  
are not scrupulous4  ,what we ask is    
victory1 without regard to the cause2   
after the ,rob  ,roy rule1 after the    
,napoleon rule1 to be the strongest     
to-day1--the  way of the                
,talleyrands1--prudent people1 whose    
watches go faster than  their           
neighbors'1 and who detect the first    
moment of decline1 and  throw themselves
 on the instant on the winning side4 ,i 
have heard that  ,nelson used to say1   
8,never mind the justice or the         

impudence1 only let  me succeed40 ,lord 
,brougham's single duty of counsel is1  
8to get the  prisoner clear40 ,fuller   
says 'tis a maxim of lawyers1 8that a   
crown  once worn cleareth all defects of
 the wearer thereof40 ,rien ne russit   
mieux que le succs4 ,and we ,americans  
are tainted with this insanity1  as our 
bankruptcies and our reckless politics  
may show4 ,we are great by  exclusion1  
grasping1 and egotism4 ,our success     
takes from all what it  gives to one4   
',tis a haggard1 malignant1 careworn    
running for luck4    ,egotism is a kind 
of buckram that gives momentary strength
 and  concentration to men1 and seems to
 be much used in nature for fabrics  in 
which local and spasmodic energy is     
required4 ,i could point to men  in this
 country of indispensable importance to 
the carrying on of  ,american life1 of  
this humor1 whom we could ill spare2 any
 one of them  would be a national loss4 
,but it spoils conversation4 ,they will 
not  try conclusions with you4 ,they are

 ever thrusting this pampered self      
between you and them4 ,it is plain they 
have a long education to undergo  to    
reach simplicity and plain-dealing1     
which are what a wise man mainly  cares 
for in his companion4 ,nature knows how 
to convert evil to good2  ,nature       
utilizes misers1 fanatics1 show-men1    
egotists1 to accomplish her  ends2 but  
we must not think better of the foible  
for that4 ,the passion  for sudden      
success is rude and puerile1 just as    
war1 cannons1 and  executions are used  
to clear the ground of bad1 lumpish1    
irreclaimable  savages1 but always to   
the damage of the conquerors4    ,i hate
 this shallow ,americanism which hopes  
to get rich by credit1  to get knowledge
 by raps on midnight tables1 to learn   
the economy of  the mind by phrenology1 
or skill without study1 or mastery      
without  apprenticeship1 or the sale of 
goods through pretending that they sell1
  or power through making believe you   
are powerful1 or through a packed  jury 

or caucus1 bribery and 8repeating0      
votes1 or wealth by fraud4  ,they think 
they have got it1 but they have got     
something else1--a  crime which calls   
for another crime1 and another devil    
behind that2  these are steps to        
suicide1 infamy1 and the harming of     
mankind4 ,we  countenance each other in 
this life of show1 puffing1             
advertisement1  and manufacture of      
public opinion2 and excellence is lost  
sight of in  the hunger for sudden      
performance and praise4    ,there was a 
wise man1 an ,italian artist1 ,michel   
,angelo1 who writes thus  of himself3   
8,meanwhile the ,cardinal ,ippolito1 in 
whom all my best hopes  were placed1    
being dead1 ,i began to understand that 
the promises of  this world are1 for the
 most part1 vain phantoms1 and that to  
confide  in one's self1 and become      
something of worth and value1 is the    
best and  safest course40 ,now1 though  
,i am by no means sure that the reader  
will  assent to all my propositions1 yet

 ,i think we shall agree in my first    
rule for success1--that we shall drop   
the brag and the advertisement1  and    
take ,michel ,angelo's course1 8to      
confide in one's self1 and be  something
 of worth and value40    ,each man has  
an aptitude born with him to do easily  
some feat  impossible to any other4 ,do 
your work4 ,i have to say this often1   
but  nature says it oftener4 ',tis      
clownish to insist on doing all with    
one's own hands1 as if every man should 
build his own clumsy house1  forge his  
hammer1 and bake his dough2 but he is to
 dare to do what  he can do best2 not   
help others as they would direct him1   
but as he  knows his helpful power to   
be4 ,to do otherwise is to neutralize   
all  those extraordinary special talents
 distributed among men4 ,yet1 whilst    
this self-truth is essential to the     
exhibition of the world and to the      
growth and glory of each mind1 it is    
rare to find a man who believes  his own
 thought or who speaks that which he was

 created to say4 ,as  nothing astonishes
 men so much as common sense and        
plain-dealing1 so  nothing is more rare 
in any man than an act of his own4 ,any 
work looks  wonderful to him1 except    
that which he can do4 ,we do not believe
 our  own thought2 we must serve        
somebody2 we must quote somebody2 we    
dote  on the old and the distant2 we are
 tickled by great names2 we import  the 
religion of other nations2 we quote     
their opinions2 we cite their  laws4    
,the gravest and learnedest courts in   
this country shudder to face  a new     
question1 and will wait months and years
 for a case to occur that  can be       
tortured into a precedent1 and thus     
throw on a bolder party the  onus of an 
initiative4 ,thus we do not carry a     
counsel in our breasts1  or do not know 
it2 and because we cannot shake off from
 our shoes this  dust of ,europe and    
,asia1 the world seems to be born old1  
society is  under a spell1 every man is 
a borrower and a mimic1 life is         

theatrical1  and literature a quotation2
 and hence that depression of spirits1  
that  furrow of care1 said to mark every
 ,american brow4    ,self-trust is the  
first secret of success1 the belief     
that1 if you are  here1 the authorities 
of the universe put you here1 and for   
cause1 or  with some task strictly      
appointed you in your constitution1 and 
so  long as you work at that you are    
well and successful4 ,it by no means    
consists in rushing prematurely to a    
showy feat that shall catch the  eye and
 satisfy spectators4 ,it is enough if   
you work in the right  direction4 ,so   
far from the performance being the real 
success1 it is  clear that the success  
was much earlier than that1 namely1 when
 all the  feats that make our civility  
were the thoughts of good heads4 ,the   
fame  of each discovery rightly attaches
 to the mind that made the formula      
which contains all the details1 and not 
to the manufacturers who now  make their
 gain by it2 although the mob uniformly 

cheers the publisher1  and not the      
inventor4 ,it is the dulness of the     
multitude that they  cannot see the     
house1 in the ground-plan2 the working1 
in the model of  the projector4 ,whilst 
it is a thought1 though it were a new   
fuel1 or  a new food1 or the creation of
 agriculture1 it is cried down2 it is a 
chimera3 but when it is a fact1 and     
comes in the shape of eight per  cent1  
ten per cent1 a hundred per cent1 they  
cry1 #8,it is the voice of  ,god4'      
,horatio ,greenough1 the sculptor1 said 
to me of ,robert ,fulton's  visit to    
,paris3 8,fulton knocked at the door of 
,napoleon with steam1  and was rejected2
 and ,napoleon lived long enough to know
 that he had  excluded a greater power  
than his own40    ,is there no loving of
 knowledge1 and of art1 and of our      
design1 for  itself alone8 ,cannot we   
please ourselves with performing our    
work1 or  gaining truth and power1      
without being praised for it8 ,i gain my
 point1  ,i gain all points1 if ,i can  

reach my companion with any statement   
which teaches him his own worth4 ,the   
sum of wisdom is1 that the time  is     
never lost that is devoted to work4 ,the
 good workman never says1  #8,there1    
that will do'2 but1 #8,there1 that is   
it3 try it1 and come again1  it will    
last always4' ,if the artist1 in        
whatever art1 is well at work  on his   
own design1 it signifies little that he 
does not yet find orders  or customers4 
,i pronounce that young man happy who is
 content with  having acquired the skill
 which he had aimed at1 and waits       
willingly  when the occasion of making  
it appreciated shall arrive1 knowing    
well  that it will not loiter4 ,the time
 your rival spends in dressing up his   
work for effect1 hastily1 and for the   
market1 you spend in study and          
experiments towards real knowledge and  
efficiency4 ,he has thereby sold  his   
picture or machine1 or won the prize1 or
 got the appointment2 but  you have     
raised yourself into a higher school of 

art1 and a few years  will show the     
advantage of the real master over the   
short popularity of  the showman4 ,i    
know it is a nice point to discriminate 
this self-trust1  which is the pledge of
 all mental vigor and performance1 from 
the  disease to which it is allied1--the
 exaggeration of the part which we  can 
play2--yet they are two things4 ,but it 
is sanity to know1 that1  over my talent
 or knack1 and a million times better   
than any talent1  is the central        
intelligence which subordinates and uses
 all talents2  and it is only as a door 
into this1 that any talent or the       
knowledge it  gives is of value4 ,he    
only who comes into this central        
intelligence1  in which no egotism or   
exaggeration can be1 comes into         
self-possession4    ,my next point is   
that1 in the scale of powers1 it is not 
talent1 but  sensibility1 which is best3
 talent confines1 but the central life  
puts us in relation to all4 ,how often  
it seems the chief good to be  born with

 a cheerful temper1 and well adjusted to
 the tone of the  human race4 ,such a   
man feels himself in harmony1 and       
conscious by  his receptivity of an     
infinite strength4 ,like ,alfred1 8good 
fortune  accompanies him like a gift of 
,god40 ,feel yourself1 and be not       
daunted  by things4 ',tis the fulness of
 man that runs over into objects1 and   
makes his ,bibles and ,shakspeares and  
,homers so great4 ,the joyful reader    
borrows of his own ideas to fill their  
faulty outline1 and knows not  that he  
borrows and gives4    ,there is         
something of poverty in our criticism4  
,we assume that there  are few great    
men1 all the rest are little2 that there
 is but one  ,homer1 but one            
,shakspeare1 one ,newton1 one ,socrates4
 ,but the soul in  her beaming hour does
 not acknowledge these usurpations4 ,we 
should know  how to praise ,socrates1 or
 ,plato1 or ,saint ,john1 without       
impoverishing  us4 ,in good hours we do 
not find ,shakspeare or ,homer          

over-great1--only  to have been         
translators of the happy present1--and  
every man and woman  divine             
possibilities4 ',tis the good reader    
that makes the good book2 a  good head  
cannot read amiss3 in every book he     
finds passages which seem  confidences  
or asides hidden from all else and      
unmistakably meant for  his ear4    ,the
 light by which we see in this world    
comes out from the soul of  the         
observer4 ,wherever any noble sentiment 
dwelt1 it made the faces  and houses    
around to shine4 ,nay1 the powers of    
this busy brain are  miraculous and     
illimitable4 ,therein are the rules and 
formulas by which  the whole empire of  
matter is worked4 ,there is no          
prosperity1 trade1  art1 city1 or great 
material wealth of any kind1 but if you 
trace it  home1 you will find it rooted 
in a thought of some individual man4    
,is all life a surface affair8 ',tis    
curious1 but our difference of wit      
appears to be only a difference of      

impressionability1 or power to          
appreciate faint1 fainter1 and          
infinitely faintest voices and visions4 
,when the scholar or the writer has     
pumped his brain for thoughts and       
verses1 and then comes abroad into      
,nature1 has he never found that  there 
is a better poetry hinted in a boy's    
whistle of a tune1 or in  the piping of 
a sparrow1 than in all his literary     
results8 ,we call  it health4 ,what is  
so admirable as the health of           
youth8--with his  long days because his 
eyes are good1 and brisk circulations   
keep him  warm in cold rooms1 and he    
loves books that speak to the           
imagination2  and he can read ,plato1   
covered to his chin with a cloak in a   
cold  upper chamber1 though he should   
associate the ,dialogues ever after     
with a woollen smell4 ',tis the bane of 
life that natural effects are           
continually crowded out1 and artificial 
arrangements substituted4  ,we remember 
when1 in early youth1 the earth spoke   

and the heavens  glowed2 when an        
evening1 any evening1 grim and wintry1  
sleet and snow1  was enough for us2 the 
houses were in the air4 ,now it costs a 
rare  combination of clouds and lights  
to overcome the common and mean4 ,what  
is it we look for in the landscape1 in  
sunsets and sunrises1 in the sea  and   
the firmament8 what but a compensation  
for the cramp and pettiness  of human   
performances8 ,we bask in the day1 and  
the mind finds somewhat  as great as    
itself4 ,in ,nature1 all is large1      
massive repose4 ,remember  what befalls 
a city boy who goes for the first time  
into the ,october  woods4 ,he is        
suddenly initiated into a pomp and glory
 that brings to  pass for him the dreams
 of romance4 ,he is the king he dreamed 
he was2  he walks through tents of gold1
 through bowers of crimson1 porphyry1   
and topaz1 pavilion on pavilion1        
garlanded with vines1 flowers1 and      
sunbeams1 with incense and music1 with  
so many hints to his astonished  senses2

 the leaves twinkle and pique and       
flatter him1 and his eye and  step are  
tempted on by what hazy distances to    
happier solitudes4 ,all  this happiness 
he owes only to his finer perception4   
,the owner of the  wood-lot finds only a
 number of discolored trees1 and says1  
#8,they  ought to come down2 they aren't
 growing any better2 they should be cut 
and corded before spring4'              
,wordsworth writes of the delights of   
the boy in ,nature3--      8,for never  
will come back the hour    ,of splendor 
in the grass1 of glory in the flower40  
,but ,i have just seen a man1 well      
knowing what he spoke of1 who told me   
that the verse was not true for him2    
that his eyes opened as he grew  older1 
and that every spring was more beautiful
 to him than the last4    ,we live among
 gods of our own creation4 ,does that   
deep-toned bell1  which has shortened   
many a night of ill nerves1 render to   
you nothing  but acoustic vibrations8   
,is the old church1 which gave you the  

first  lessons of religious life1 or the
 village school1 or the college where   
you first knew the dreams of fancy and  
joys of thought1 only boards or  brick  
and mortar8 ,is the house in which you  
were born1 or the house  in which your  
dearest friend lived1 only a piece of   
real estate whose  value is covered by  
the ,hartford insurance8 ,you walk on   
the beach and  enjoy the animation of   
the picture4 ,scoop up a little water in
 the  hollow of your palm1 take up a    
handful of shore sand2 well1 these are  
the elements4 ,what is the beach but    
acres of sand8 ,what is the ocean  but  
cubic miles of water8 a little more or  
less signifies nothing4  ,no1 it is that
 this brute matter is part of somewhat  
not brute4 ,it is  that the sand floor  
is held by spheral gravity1 and bent to 
be a part  of the round globe1 under the
 optical sky1--part of the astonishing  
astronomy1 and existing1 at last1 to    
moral ends and from moral causes4       
,the world is not made up to the eye of 

figures1 that is1 only half2 it  is also
 made of color4 ,how that element washes
 the universe with its  enchanting      
waves6 ,the sculptor had ended his work1
 and behold a new  world of dream-like  
glory4 ',tis the last stroke of ,nature2
 beyond color  she cannot go4 ,in like  
manner1 life is made up1 not of         
knowledge only1  but of love also4 ,if  
thought is form1 sentiment is color4 ,it
 clothes  the skeleton world with space1
 variety1 and glow4 ,the hues of sunset 
make life great2 so the affections make 
some little web of cottage and  fireside
 populous1 important1 and filling the   
main space in our history4    ,the      
fundamental fact in our metaphysic      
constitution is the  correspondence of  
man to the world1 so that every change  
in that  writes a record in the mind4   
,the mind yields sympathetically to the 
tendencies or law which stream through  
things1 and make the order of  nature2  
and in the perfection of this           
correspondence or expressiveness1  the  

health and force of man consist4 ,if we 
follow this hint into our  intellectual 
education1 we shall find that it is not 
propositions1 not  new dogmas and a     
logical exposition of the world1 that   
are our first  need2 but to watch and   
tenderly cherish the intellectual and   
moral  sensibilities1 those fountains of
 right thought1 and woo them to stay    
and make their home with us4 ,whilst    
they abide with us1 we shall not  think 
amiss4 ,our perception far outruns our  
talent4 ,we bring a welcome  to the     
highest lessons of religion and of      
poetry out of all proportion  beyond our
 skill to teach4 ,and1 further1 the     
great hearing and sympathy  of men is   
more true and wise than their speaking  
is wont to be4 ,a deep  sympathy is what
 we require for any student of the mind2
 for the chief  difference between man  
and man is a difference of              
impressionability4  ,aristotle1 or      
,bacon1 or ,kant propound some maxim    
which is the key-note  of philosophy    

thenceforward4 ,but ,i am more          
interested to know1 that1  when at last 
they have hurled out their grand word1  
it is only some  familiar experience of 
every man in the street4 ,if it be not1 
it will  never be heard of again4       
,ah6 if one could keep this sensibility1
 and live in the happy sufficing        
present1 and find the day and its cheap 
means contenting1 which  only ask       
receptivity in you1 and no strained     
exertion and cankering  ambition1       
overstimulating to be at the head of    
your class and the head  of society1 and
 to have distinction and laurels and    
consumption6 ,we are  not strong by our 
power to penetrate1 but by our          
relatedness4 ,the world  is enlarged for
 us1 not by new objects1 but by finding 
more affinities  and potencies in those 
we have4    ,this sensibility appears in
 the homage to beauty which exalts the  
faculties of youth1 in the power which  
form and color exert upon  the soul2    
when we see eyes that are a compliment  

to the human race1  features that       
explain the ,phidian sculpture4         
,fontenelle said3 8,there  are three    
things about which ,i have curiosity1   
though ,i know nothing of  them1--music1
 poetry1 and love40 ,the great doctors  
of this science are  the greatest       
men1--,dante1 ,petrarch1 ,michel        
,angelo1 and ,shakspeare4 ,the  wise    
,socrates treats this matter with a     
certain archness1 yet with very  marked 
expressions4 8,i am always10 he says1   
8asserting that ,i happen to  know1 ,i  
may say1 nothing but a mere trifle      
relating to matters of love2  yet in    
that kind of learning ,i lay claim to   
being more skilled than  any one man of 
the past or present time40 ,they may    
well speak in this  uncertain manner of 
their knowledge1 and in this confident  
manner of  their will1 for the secret of
 it is hard to detect1 so deep it is2   
and  yet genius is measured by its skill
 in this science4    ,who is he in      
youth1 or in maturity1 or even in old   

age1 who does not  like to hear of those
 sensibilities which turn curled heads  
round at  church1 and send wonderful    
eye-beams across assemblies1 from one to
  one1 never missing in the thickest    
crowd4 ,the keen statist reckons by     
tens and hundreds2 the genial man is    
interested in every slipper that  comes 
into the assembly4 ,the passion1 alike  
everywhere1 creeps under  the snows of  
,scandinavia1 under the fires of the    
equator1 and swims in  the seas of      
,polynesia4 ,lofn is as puissant a      
divinity in the ,norse ,edda  as        
,camadeva in the red vault of ,india1   
,eros in the ,greek1 or ,cupid in  the  
,latin heaven4 ,and what is specially   
true of love is1 that it is a  state of 
extreme impressionability2 the lover has
 more senses and finer  senses than     
others2 his eye and ear are telegraphs2 
he reads omens on  the flower1 and      
cloud1 and face1 and form1 and gesture1 
and reads them  aright4 ,in his surprise
 at the sudden and entire understanding 

that is  between him and the beloved    
person1 it occurs to him that they might
  somehow meet independently of time and
 place4 ,how delicious the belief  that 
he could elude all guards1 precautions1 
ceremonies1 means1 and  delays1 and hold
 instant and sempiternal communication6 
,in solitude1 in  banishment1 the hope  
returned1 and the experiment was eagerly
 tried4  ,the supernal powers seem to   
take his part4 ,what was on his lips to 
say  is uttered by his friend4 ,when he 
went abroad1 he met1 by wonderful       
casualties1 the one person he sought4   
,if in his walk he chanced to look      
back1 his friend was walking behind him4
 ,and it has happened that the  artist  
has often drawn in his pictures the face
 of the future wife whom  he had not yet
 seen4    ,but also in complacences1    
nowise so strict as this of the passion1
 the  man of sensibility counts it a    
delight only to hear a child's voice    
fully addressed to him1 or to see the   
beautiful manners of the youth  of      

either sex4 ,when the event is past and 
remote1 how insignificant  the greatest 
compared with the piquancy of the       
present6 ,to-day at the  school         
examination the professor interrogates  
,sylvina in the history  class about    
,odoacer and ,alaric4 ,sylvina can't    
remember1 but suggests  that ,odoacer   
was defeated2 and the professor tartly  
replies1 8,no1 he  defeated the         
,romans40 ,but 'tis plain to the        
visitor1 that 'tis of no  importance at 
all about ,odoacer1 and 'tis a great    
deal of importance  about ,sylvina2 and 
if she says he was defeated1 why he had 
better1  a great deal1 have been        
defeated1 than give her a moment's      
annoy4  ,odoacer1 if there was a        
particle of the gentleman in him1 would 
have  said1 ,let me be defeated a       
thousand times4    ,and as our          
tenderness for youth and beauty gives a 
new and just  importance to their fresh 
and manifold claims1 so the like        
sensibility  gives welcome to all       

excellence1 has eyes and hospitality for
 merit in  corners4 ,an ,englishman of  
marked character and talent1 who had    
brought  with him hither one or two     
friends and a library of mystics1       
assured me  that nobody and nothing of  
possible interest was left in           
,england1--he  had brought all that was 
alive away4 ,i was forced to reply3     
8,no1 next  door to you1 probably1 on   
the other side of the partition in the  
same  house1 was a greater man than any 
you had seen40 ,every man has a  history
 worth knowing1 if he could tell it1 or 
if we could draw it from  him4          
,character and wit have their own       
magnetism4 ,send a deep man into  any   
town1 and he will find another deep man 
there1 unknown hitherto  to his         
neighbors4 ,that is the great happiness 
of life1--to add to our  high           
acquaintances4 ,the very law of averages
 might have assured you  that there will
 be in every hundred heads1 say ten or  
five good heads4  ,morals are generated 

as the atmosphere is4 ',tis a secret1   
the genesis  of either2 but the springs 
of justice and courage do not fail any  
more  than salt or sulphur springs4     
,the world is always opulent1 the       
oracles are never silent2 but  the      
receiver must by a happy temperance be  
brought to that top of  condition1 that 
frolic health1 that he can easily take  
and give these  fine communications4    
,health is the condition of wisdom1 and 
the sign  is cheerfulness1--an open and 
noble temper4 ,there was never poet who 
had not the heart in the right place4   
,the old trouveur1 ,pons ,capdueil1     
wrote1--      8,oft have ,i heard1 and  
deem the witness true1    ,whom man     
delights in1 ,god delights in too40     
,all beauty warms the heart1 is a sign  
of health1 prosperity1 and the  favor of
 ,god4 ,everything lasting and fit for  
men1 the ,divine ,power  has marked with
 this stamp4 ,what delights1 what       
emancipates1 not what  scares and pains 
us1 is wise and good in speech and in   

the arts4 ,for1  truly1 the heart at the
 centre of the universe with every throb
 hurls  the flood of happiness into     
every artery1 vein1 and veinlet1 so that
  the whole system is inundated with the
 tides of joy4 ,the plenty of the       
poorest place is too great3 the harvest 
cannot be gathered4 ,every sound  ends  
in music4 ,the edge of every surface is 
tinged with prismatic rays4    ,one more
 trait of true success4 ,the good mind  
chooses what is positive1  what is      
advancing1--embraces the affirmative4   
,our system is one of  poverty4 ',tis   
presumed1 as ,i said1 there is but one  
,shakspeare1 one  ,homer1 one           
,jesus1--not that all are or shall be   
inspired4 ,but we must  begin by        
affirming4 ,truth and goodness subsist  
forevermore4 ,it is true  there is evil 
and good1 night and day3 but these are  
not equal4 ,the day  is great and final4
 ,the night is for the day1 but the day 
is not for  the night4 ,what is this    
immortal demand for more1 which belongs 

to our  constitution8 this enormous     
ideal8 ,there is no such critic and     
beggar  as this terrible ,soul4 ,no     
historical person begins to content us4 
,we  know the satisfactoriness of       
justice1 the sufficiency of truth4 ,we  
know the answer that leaves nothing to  
ask4 ,we know the ,spirit by its        
victorious tone4 ,the searching tests to
 apply to every new pretender  are      
amount and quality1--what does he add8  
and what is the state of  mind he leaves
 me in8 ,your theory is unimportant2 but
 what new stock  you can add to         
humanity1 or how high you can carry     
life8 ,a man is a man  only as he makes 
life and nature happier to us4    ,i    
fear the popular notion of success      
stands in direct opposition in all      
points to the real and wholesome        
success4 ,one adores public opinion1    
the other private opinion2 one fame1 the
 other desert2 one feats1 the  other    
humility2 one lucre1 the other love2 one
 monopoly1 and the other  hospitality of

 mind4    ,we may apply this affirmative
 law to letters1 to manners1 to art1  to
 the decorations of our houses1 etc4 ,i 
do not find executions or  tortures or  
lazar-houses1 or grisly photographs of  
the field on the day  after the battle  
fit subjects for cabinet pictures4 ,i   
think that some  so-called 8sacred      
subjects0 must be treated with more     
genius than ,i  have seen in the masters
 of ,italian or ,spanish art to be right
 pictures  for houses and churches4     
,nature does not invite such exhibition4
 ,nature  lays the ground-plan of each  
creature accurately1--sternly fit for   
all his functions2 then veils it        
scrupulously4 ,see how carefully she    
covers up the skeleton4 ,the eye shall  
not see it3 the sun shall not  shine on 
it4 ,she weaves her tissues and         
integuments of flesh and skin  and hair 
and beautiful colors of the day over it1
 and forces death down  underground1 and
 makes haste to cover it up with leaves 
and vines1 and  wipes carefully out     

every trace by new creation4 ,who and   
what are you  that would lay the ghastly
 anatomy bare8    ,don't hang a dismal  
picture on the wall1 and do not daub    
with sables  and glooms in your         
conversation4 ,don't be a cynic and     
disconsolate  preacher4 ,don't bewail   
and bemoan4 ,omit the negative          
propositions4  ,nerve us with incessant 
affirmatives4 ,don't waste yourself in  
rejection1 nor bark against the bad1 but
 chant the beauty of the good4  ,when   
that is spoken which has a right to be  
spoken1 the chatter and the  criticism  
will stop4 ,set down nothing that will  
not help somebody2      8,for every gift
 of noble origin    ,is breathed upon by
 ,hope's perpetual breath40    ,the     
affirmative of affirmatives is love4 ,as
 much love1 so much  perception4 ,as    
caloric to matter1 so is love to mind2  
so it enlarges1  and so it empowers it4 
,good-will makes insight1 as one finds  
his way  to the sea by embarking on a   
river4 ,i have seen scores of people who

  can silence me1 but ,i seek one who   
shall make me forget or overcome the    
frigidities and imbecilities into which 
,i fall4 ,the painter ,giotto1  ,vasari 
tells us1 renewed art1 because he put   
more goodness into his  heads4 ,to awake
 in man and to raise the sense of worth1
 to educate his  feeling and judgment so
 that he shall scorn himself for a bad  
action1  that is the only aim4    ',tis 
cheap and easy to destroy4 ,there is not
 a joyful boy or an  innocent girl      
buoyant with fine purposes of duty1 in  
all the street  full of eager and rosy  
faces1 but a cynic can chill and        
dishearten with  a single word4         
,despondency comes readily enough to the
 most sanguine4  ,the cynic has only to 
follow their hint with his bitter       
confirmation1  and they check that eager
 courageous pace and go home with       
heavier step  and premature age4 ,they  
will themselves quickly enough give the 
hint he  wants to the cold wretch4      
,which of them has not failed to please 

where  they most wished it8 or blundered
 where they were most ambitious of      
success8 or found themselves awkward or 
tedious or incapable of study1  thought1
 or heroism1 and only hoped by good     
sense and fidelity to do  what they     
could and pass unblamed8 ,and this witty
 malefactor makes  their little hope    
less with satire and scepticism1 and    
slackens the  springs of endeavor4 ,yes1
 this is easy2 but to help the young    
soul1 add  energy1 inspire hope1 and    
blow the coals into a useful flame2 to  
redeem  defeat by new thought1 by firm  
action1 that is not easy1 that is the   
work of divine men4    ,we live on      
different planes or platforms4 ,there is
 an external life1  which is educated at
 school1 taught to read1 write1 cipher1 
and trade2  taught to grasp all the boy 
can get1 urging him to put himself      
forward1  to make himself useful and    
agreeable in the world1 to ride1 run1   
argue1  and contend1 unfold his talents1
 shine1 conquer1 and possess4    ,but   

the inner life sits at home1 and does   
not learn to do things1 nor  value these
 feats at all4 ',tis a quiet1 wise      
perception4 ,it loves  truth1 because it
 is itself real2 it loves right1 it     
knows nothing  else2 but it makes no    
progress2 was as wise in our first      
memory of  it as now2 is just the same  
now in maturity and hereafter in age1 it
  was in youth4 ,we have grown to       
manhood and womanhood2 we have powers1  
connection1 children1 reputations1      
professions3 this makes no account  of  
them all4 ,it lives in the great        
present2 it makes the present great4    
,this tranquil1 well-founded1           
wide-seeing soul is no express-rider1 no
  attorney1 no magistrate3 it lies in   
the sun1 and broods on the world4  ,a   
person of this temper once said to a man
 of much activity1 8,i will  pardon you 
that you do so much1 and you me that ,i 
do nothing40 ,and  ,euripides says that 
8,zeus hates busybodies and those who do
 too much40          ,,old ,,age4       

,,old ,,age4      ,on the anniversary of
 the ,phi ,beta ,kappa ,society at      
,cambridge1 in #ahfa1  the venerable    
,president ,quincy1 senior member of the
 ,society1 as well  as senior alumnus of
 the ,university1 was received at the   
dinner with  peculiar demonstrations of 
respect4 ,he replied to these           
compliments  in a speech1 and1          
gracefully claiming the privileges of a 
literary  society1 entered at some      
length into an ,apology for ,old ,age1  
and1  aiding himself by notes in his    
hand1 made a sort of running commentary 
on ,cicero's chapter 8,de ,senectute40  
,the character of the speaker1 the      
transparent good faith of his praise and
 blame1 and the navet of  his eager     
preference of ,cicero's opinions to     
,king ,david's1 gave unusual  interest  
to the ,college festival4 ,it was a     
discourse full of dignity1  honoring him
 who spoke and those who heard4    ,the 
speech led me to look over at home--an  
easy task--,cicero's famous  essay1     

charming by its uniform rhetorical      
merit2 heroic with ,stoical  precepts2  
with a ,roman eye to the claims of the  
,state2 happiest1  perhaps1 in his      
praise of life on the farm2 and rising  
at the  conclusion to a lofty strain4   
,but he does not exhaust the subject2   
rather invites the attempt to add traits
 to the picture from our  broader modern
 life4    ,cicero makes no reference to 
the illusions which cling to the element
  of time1 and in which ,nature         
delights4 ,wellington1 in speaking of   
military men1 said1 8,what masks are    
these uniforms to hide cowards60  ,i    
have often detected the like deception  
in the cloth shoe1 wadded  pelisse1 wig1
 spectacles1 and padded chair of ,age4  
,nature lends herself  to these         
illusions1 and adds dim sight1 deafness1
 cracked voice1 snowy  hair1 short      
memory and sleep4 ,these also are masks1
 and all is not ,age  that wears them4  
,whilst we yet call ourselves young1 and
 our mates  are yet youths with even    

boyish remains1 one good fellow in the  
set  prematurely sports a gray or a bald
 head1 which does not impose on  us who 
know how innocent of sanctity or of     
,platonism he is1 but does  deceive his 
juniors and the public1 who presently   
distinguish him with  a most amusing    
respect3 and this lets us into the      
secret1 that the  venerable forms that  
so awed our childhood were just such    
impostors4  ,nature is full of freaks1  
and now puts an old head on young       
shoulders1  and then a young heart      
beating under fourscore winters4    ,for
 if the essence of age is not present1  
these signs1 whether of ,art  or        
,nature1 are counterfeit and ridiculous3
 and the essence of age is  intellect4  
,wherever that appears1 we call it old4 
,if we look into the  eyes of the       
youngest person1 we sometimes discover  
that here is one who  knows already what
 you would go about with much pains to  
teach him2  there is that in him which  
is the ancestor of all around him3 which

  fact the ,indian ,vedas express when  
they say1 8,he that can discriminate  is
 the father of his father40 ,and in our 
old ,british legends of ,arthur  and the
 ,round ,table1 his friend and          
counsellor1 ,merlin the ,wise1 is a     
babe found exposed in a basket by the   
river-side1 and1 though an infant  of   
only a few days1 speaks articulately to 
those who discover him1  tells his name 
and history1 and presently foretells the
 fate of the  by-standers4 ,wherever    
there is power1 there is age4 ,don't be 
deceived  by dimples and curls4 ,i tell 
you that babe is a thousand years old4  
,time is1 indeed1 the theatre and seat  
of illusion3 nothing is so  ductile and 
elastic4 ,the mind stretches an hour to 
a century1 and  dwarfs an age to an     
hour4 ,saadi found in a mosque at       
,damascus an old  ,persian of a hundred 
and fifty years who was dying1 and was  
saying to  himself1 8,i said1 coming    
into the world by birth1 #8,i will enjoy
 myself  for a few moments4' ,alas6 at  

the variegated table of life ,i partook 
of a few mouthfuls1 and the ,fates said1
 #8,enough6'0 ,that which does  not     
decay is so central and controlling in  
us1 that1 as long as one  is alone by   
himself1 he is not sensible of the      
inroads of time1 which  always begin at 
the surface-edges4 ,if1 on a winter day1
 you should  stand within a bell-glass1 
the face and color of the afternoon     
clouds  would not indicate whether it   
were ,june or ,january2 and if we did   
not  find the reflection of ourselves in
 the eyes of the young people1 we  could
 not know that the century-clock had    
struck seventy instead of  twenty4 ,how 
many men habitually believe that each   
chance passenger with  whom they        
converse is of their own age1 and       
presently find it was his  father1 and  
not his brother1 whom they knew6    ,but
 not to press too hard on these deceits 
and illusions of ,nature1  which are    
inseparable from our condition1 and     
looking at age under  an aspect more    

conformed to the common sense1 if the   
question be  the felicity of age1 ,i    
fear the first popular judgments will be
  unfavorable4 ,from the point of       
sensuous experience1 seen from the      
streets and markets and the haunts of   
pleasure and gain1 the estimate  of age 
is low1 melancholy1 and sceptical4      
,frankly face the facts1  and see the   
result4 ,tobacco1 coffee1 alcohol1      
hashish1 prussic acid1  strychnine1 are 
weak dilutions3 the surest poison is    
time4 ,this cup1  which ,nature puts to 
our lips1 has a wonderful virtue1       
surpassing  that of any other draught4  
,it opens the senses1 adds power1 fills 
us  with exalted dreams1 which we call  
hope1 love1 ambition1 science3          
especially1 it creates a craving for    
larger draughts of itself4  ,but they   
who take the larger draughts are drunk  
with it1 lose their  stature1 strength1 
beauty1 and senses1 and end in folly and
 delirium4  ,we postpone our literary   
work until we have more ripeness and    

skill to  write1 and we one day discover
 that our literary talent was a youthful
  effervescence which we have now lost4 
,we had a judge in ,massachusetts  who  
at sixty proposed to resign1 alleging   
that he perceived a certain1  decay in  
his faculties2 he was dissuaded by his  
friends1 on account  of the public      
convenience at that time4 ,at seventy it
 was hinted to  him that it was time to 
retire2 but he now replied1 that he     
thought  his judgment as robust1 and all
 his faculties as good as ever they     
were4 ,but besides the self-deception1  
the strong and hasty laborers of  the   
street do not work well with the chronic
 valetudinarian4 ,youth is  everywhere  
in place4 ,age1 like woman1 requires fit
 surroundings4 ,age  is comely in       
coaches1 in churches1 in chairs of      
state1 and ceremony1  in                
council-chambers1 in courts of justice1 
and historical societies4  ,age is      
becoming in the country4 ,but in the    
rush and uproar of ,broadway1  if you   

look into the faces of the passengers1  
there is dejection or  indignation in   
the seniors1 a certain concealed sense  
of injury1  and the lip made up with a  
heroic determination not to mind it4    
,few  envy the consideration enjoyed by 
the oldest inhabitant4 ,we do not  count
 a man's years1 until he has nothing    
else to count4 ,the vast  inconvenience 
of animal immortality was told in the   
fable of ,tithonus4  ,in short1 the     
creed of the street is1 ,old ,age is not
 disgraceful1 but  immensely            
disadvantageous4 ,life is well enough1  
but we shall all be  glad to get out of 
it1 and they will all be glad to have   
us4    ,this is odious on the face of   
it4 ,universal convictions are not to   
be shaken by the whimseys of overfed    
butchers and firemen1 or by the         
sentimental fears of girls who would    
keep the infantile bloom on their       
cheeks4 ,we know the value of           
experience4 ,life and art are           
cumulative2  and he who has accomplished

 something in any department alone      
deserves  to be heard on that subject4  
,a man of great employments and         
excellent  performance used to assure me
 that he did not think a man worth      
anything until he was sixty2 although   
this smacks a little of the  resolution 
of a certain 8,young ,men's ,republican 
,club10 that all men  should be held    
eligible who were under seventy4 ,but in
 all governments1  the councils of power
 were held by the old2 and patricians or
 patres1  senate or senes1 seigneurs or 
seniors1 gerousia1 the senate of        
,sparta1 the presbytery of the ,church1 
and the like1 all signify simply  old   
men4    ,the cynical creed or lampoon of
 the market is refuted by the universal 
prayer for long life1 which is the      
verdict of ,nature1 and justified by    
all history4 ,we have1 it is true1      
examples of an accelerated pace by      
which young men achieved grand works2 as
 in the ,macedonian ,alexander1  in     
,raffaelle1 ,shakspeare1 ,pascal1       

,burns1 and ,byron2 but these are rare  
exceptions4 ,nature1 in the main1       
vindicates her law4 ,skill to do comes  
of doing2 knowledge comes by eyes always
 open1 and working hands2 and  there is 
no knowledge that is not power4 ,branger
 said1 8,almost all  the good workmen   
live long40 ,and if the life be true and
 noble1 we  have quite another sort of  
seniors than the frowzy1 timorous1      
peevish  dotards who are falsely        
old1--namely1 the men who fear no city1 
but  by whom cities stand2 who appearing
 in any street1 the people empty  their 
houses to gaze at and obey them3 as at  
8,my ,cid1 with the fleecy  beard10 in  
,toledo2 or ,bruce1 as ,barbour reports 
him2 as blind old  ,dandolo1 elected    
,doge at eighty-four years1 storming    
,constantinople  at ninety-four1 and    
after the revolt again victorious1 and  
elected at  the age of ninety-six to the
 throne of the ,eastern ,empire1 which  
he  declined1 and died ,doge at         
ninety-seven4 ,we still feel the force  

of  ,socrates1 8whom well-advised the   
oracle pronounced wisest of men02 of    
,archimedes1 holding ,syracuse against  
the ,romans by his wit1 and himself     
better than all their nation2 of ,michel
 ,angelo1 wearing the four crowns  of   
architecture1 sculpture1 painting1 and  
poetry2 of ,galileo1 of whose  blindness
 ,castelli said1 8,the noblest eye is   
darkened that ,nature ever  made1--an   
eye that hath seen more than all that   
went before him1 and  hath opened the   
eyes of all that shall come after him02 
of ,newton1 who  made an important      
discovery for every one of his          
eighty-five years2  of ,bacon1 who 8took
 all knowledge to be his province02 of  
,fontenelle1  8that precious porcelain  
vase laid up in the centre of ,france to
  be guarded with the utmost care for a 
hundred years02 of ,franklin1           
,jefferson1 and ,adams1 the wise and    
heroic statesmen2 of ,washington1 the   
perfect citizen2 of ,wellington1 the    
perfect soldier2 of ,goethe1 the        

all-knowing poet2 of ,humboldt1 the     
encyclopdia of science4    ,under the   
general assertion of the well-being of  
age1 we can easily  count particular    
benefits of that condition4 ,it has     
weathered the  perilous capes and shoals
 in the sea whereon we sail1 and the    
chief  evil of life is taken away in    
removing the grounds of fear4 ,the      
insurance of a ship expires as she      
enters the harbor at home4 ,it were     
strange1 if a man should turn his       
sixtieth year without a feeling of      
immense relief from the number of       
dangers he has escaped4 ,when the  old  
wife says1 #8,take care of that tumor in
 your shoulder1 perhaps it  is          
cancerous1'--he replies1 #8,i am        
yielding to a surer decomposition4'     
,the humorous thief who drank a pot of  
beer at the gallows blew off the  froth 
because he had heard it was unhealthy2  
but it will not add a  pang to the      
prisoner marched out to be shot1 to     
assure him that the  pain in his knee   

threatens mortification4 ,when the      
pleuro-pneumonia  of the cows raged1 the
 butchers said1 that1 though the acute  
degree  was novel1 there never was a    
time when this disease did not occur    
among cattle4 ,all men carry seeds of   
all distempers through life  latent1 and
 we die without developing them2 such is
 the affirmative  force of the          
constitution2 but if you are enfeebled  
by any cause1  some of these sleeping   
seeds start and open4 ,meantime1 at     
every stage  we lose a foe4 ,at fifty   
years1 'tis said1 afflicted citizens    
lose  their sick-headaches4 ,i hope this
 hegira is not as movable a feast  as   
that one ,i annually look for1 when the 
horticulturists assure me  that the     
rosebugs in our gardens disappear on the
 tenth of ,july2  they stay a fortnight 
later in mine4 ,but be it as it may with
 the  sick-headache1--'tis certain that 
graver headaches and heart-aches are    
lulled once for all1 as we come up with 
certain goals of time4 ,the  passions   

have answered their purpose3 that slight
 but dread overweight1  with which1 in  
each instance1 ,nature secures the      
execution of her  aim1 drops off4 ,to   
keep man in the planet1 she impresses   
the terror  of death4 ,to perfect the   
commissariat1 she implants in each a    
certain  rapacity to get the supply1 and
 a little oversupply1 of his wants4 ,to 
insure the existence of the race1 she   
reinforces the sexual instinct1  at the 
risk of disorder1 grief1 and pain4 ,to  
secure strength1 she  plants cruel      
hunger and thirst1 which so easily      
overdo their office1  and invite        
disease4 ,but these temporary stays and 
shifts for the  protection of the young 
animal are shed as fast as they can be  
replaced  by nobler resources4 ,we live 
in youth amidst this rabble of passions1
  quite too tender1 quite too hungry and
 irritable4 ,later1 the interiors  of   
mind and heart open1 and supply grander 
motives4 ,we learn the fatal            
compensations that wait on every act4   

,then1--one after another1--this        
riotous time-destroying crew disappear4 
,i count it another capital advantage of
 age1 this1 that a success more  or less
 signifies nothing4 ,little by little1  
it has amassed such a  fund of merit1   
that it can very well afford to go on   
its credit when  it will4 ,when ,i      
chanced to meet the poet ,wordsworth1   
then sixty-three  years old1 he told me1
 8that he had just had a fall and lost a
 tooth1  and1 when his companions were  
much concerned for the mischance1 he had
  replied1 that he was glad it had not  
happened forty years before40  ,well1   
,nature takes care that we shall not    
lose our organs forty years  too soon4  
,a lawyer argued a cause yesterday in   
the ,supreme ,court1 and  ,i was struck 
with a certain air of levity and        
defiance which vastly  became him4      
,thirty years ago it was a serious      
concern to him whether  his pleading was
 good and effective4 ,now it is of      
importance to his  client1 but of none  

to himself4 ,it has been long already   
fixed what he  can do and cannot do1 and
 his reputation does not gain or suffer 
from  one or a dozen new performances4  
,if he should1 on a new occasion1 rise  
quite beyond his mark1 and achieve      
somewhat great and extraordinary1  that1
 of course1 would instantly tell2 but he
 may go below his mark  with impunity1  
and people will say1 #8,o1 he had       
headache1' or1 #8,he lost  his sleep for
 two nights4' ,what a lust of           
appearance1 what a load of  anxieties   
that once degraded him1 he is thus rid  
of6 ,every one is  sensible of this     
cumulative advantage in living4 ,all the
 good days  behind him are sponsors1 who
 speak for him when he is silent1 pay   
for  him when he has no money1 introduce
 him where he has no letters1 and  work 
for him when he sleeps4    ,a third     
felicity of age is1 that it has found   
expression4 ,the youth  suffers not only
 from ungratified desires1 but from     
powers untried1 and  from a picture in  

his mind of a career which has1 as yet1 
no outward  reality4 ,he is tormented   
with the want of correspondence between 
things  and thoughts4 ,michel ,angelo's 
head is full of masculine and gigantic  
figures as gods walking1 which make him 
savage until his furious chisel  can    
render them into marble2 and of         
architectural dreams1 until a  hundred  
stone-masons can lay them in courses of 
travertine4 ,there is  the like tempest 
in every good head in which some great  
benefit for  the world is planted4 ,the 
throes continue until the child is born4
  ,every faculty new to each man thus   
goads him and drives him out into       
doleful deserts1 until it finds proper  
vent4 ,all the functions of  human duty 
irritate and lash him forward1 bemoaning
 and chiding1 until  they are performed4
 ,he wants friends1 employment1         
knowledge1 power1  house and land1 wife 
and children1 honor and fame2 he has    
religious  wants1 sthetic wants1        
domestic1 civil1 humane wants4 ,one by  

one1  day after day1 he learns to coin  
his wishes into facts4 ,he has his      
calling1 homestead1 social connection1  
and personal power1 and thus1  at the   
end of fifty years1 his soul is appeased
 by seeing some sort  of correspondence 
between his wish and his possession4    
,this makes the  value of age1 the      
satisfaction it slowly offers to every  
craving4 ,he  is serene who does not    
feel himself pinched and wronged1 but   
whose  condition1 in particular and in  
general1 allows the utterance of his    
mind4 ,in old persons1 when thus fully  
expressed1 we often observe a  fair1    
plump1 perennial1 waxen complexion1     
which indicates that all  the ferment of
 earlier days has subsided into serenity
 of thought and  behavior4    ,the      
compensations of ,nature play in age as 
in youth4 ,in a world so  charged and   
sparkling with power1 a man does not    
live long and actively  without costly  
additions of experience1 which1 though  
not spoken1 are  recorded in his mind4  

,what to the youth is only a guess or a 
hope1 is  in the veteran a digested     
statute4 ,he beholds the feats of the   
juniors  with complacency1 but as one   
who1 having long ago known these games1 
has refined them into results and       
morals4 ,the ,indian ,red ,jacket1 when 
the young braves were boasting their    
deeds1 said1 8,but the sixties have  all
 the twenties and forties in them40     
,for a fourth benefit1 age sets its     
house in order1 and finishes its  works1
 which to every artist is a supreme     
pleasure4 ,youth has an excess  of      
sensibility1 before which every object  
glitters and attracts4 ,we  leave one   
pursuit for another1 and the young man's
 year is a heap of  beginnings4 ,at the 
end of a twelvemonth1 he has nothing to 
show for  it1--not one completed work4  
,but the time is not lost4 ,our         
instincts  drove us to hive innumerable 
experiences1 that are yet of no visible 
value1 and which we may keep for twice  
seven years before they shall  be       

wanted4 ,the best things are of secular 
growth4 ,the instinct of  classifying   
marks the wise and healthy mind4 ,linnus
 projects his  system1 and lays out his 
twenty-four classes of plants1 before   
yet he  has found in ,nature a single   
plant to justify certain of his classes4
  ,his seventh class has not one4 ,in   
process of time1 he finds with  delight 
the little white ,trientalis1 the only  
plant with seven petals  and sometimes  
seven stamens1 which constitutes a      
seventh class in  conformity with his   
system4 ,the conchologist builds his    
cabinet whilst  as yet he has few       
shells4 ,he labels shelves for classes1 
cells for  species3 all but a few are   
empty4 ,but every year fills some       
blanks1 and  with accelerating speed as 
he becomes knowing and known4 ,an old   
scholar  finds keen delight in verifying
 the impressive anecdotes and citations 
he has met with in miscellaneous reading
 and hearing1 in all the years  of      
youth4 ,we carry in memory important    

anecdotes1 and have lost all  clew to   
the author from whom we had them4 ,we   
have a heroic speech from  ,rome or     
,greece1 but cannot fix it on the man   
who said it4 ,we have an  admirable line
 worthy of ,horace1 ever and anon       
resounding in our mind's  ear1 but have 
searched all probable and improbable    
books for it in  vain4 ,we consult the  
reading men3 but1 strangely enough1 they
 who know  everything know not this4    
,but especially we have a certain       
insulated  thought1 which haunts us1 but
 remains insulated and barren4 ,well1   
there is nothing for all this but       
patience and time4 ,time1 yes1 that  is 
the finder1 the unweariable explorer1   
not subject to casualties1  omniscient  
at last4 ,the day comes when the hidden 
author of our story  is found2 when the 
brave speech returns straight to the    
hero who  said it2 when the admirable   
verse finds the poet to whom it belongs2
  and best of all1 when the lonely      
thought1 which seemed so wise1 yet      

half-wise1 half-thought1 because it cast
 no light abroad1 is suddenly  matched  
in our mind by its twin1 by its         
sequence1 or next related  analogy1     
which gives it instantly radiating      
power1 and justifies the  superstitious 
instinct with which we have hoarded it4 
,we remember our  old ,greek ,professor 
at ,cambridge1 an ancient bachelor1 amid
 his folios1  possessed by this hope of 
completing a task1 with nothing to break
 his  leisure after the three hours of  
his daily classes1 yet ever restlessly  
stroking his leg1 and assuring himself  
8he should retire from the  ,university 
and read the authors40 ,in ,goethe's    
,romance1 ,makaria1  the central figure 
for wisdom and influence1 pleases       
herself with  withdrawing into solitude 
to astronomy and epistolary             
correspondence4  ,goethe himself carried
 this completion of studies to the      
highest point4  ,many of his works hung 
on the easel from youth to age1 and     
received  a stroke in every month or    

year4 ,a literary astrologer1 he never  
applied himself to any task but at the  
happy moment when all the stars         
consented4 ,bentley thought himself     
likely to live till fourscore1--long    
enough to read everything that was worth
 reading1--8,et tunc magna  mei sub     
terris ibit imago40 ,much wider is      
spread the pleasure which  old men take 
in completing their secular affairs1 the
 inventor his  inventions1 the          
agriculturist his experiments1 and all  
old men in  finishing their houses1     
rounding their estates1 clearing their  
titles1  reducing tangled interests to  
order1 reconciling enmities1 and leaving
  all in the best posture for the       
future4 ,it must be believed that there 
is a proportion between the designs of a
 man and the length of his  life3 there 
is a calendar of his years1 so of his   
performances4    ,america is the country
 of young men1 and too full of work     
hitherto for  leisure and tranquillity2 
yet we have had robust centenarians1 and

  examples of dignity and wisdom4 ,i    
have lately found in an old note-book  a
 record of a visit to ex-,president     
,john ,adams1 in #ahbe1 soon after the  
election of his son to the ,presidency4 
,it is but a sketch1 and nothing        
important passed in the conversation2   
but it reports a moment in the  life of 
a heroic person1 who1 in extreme old    
age1 appeared still erect  and worthy of
 his fame4      ----1 ,feb41 #ahbe4     
,to-day1 at ,quincy1 with my brother1 by
    invitation of ,mr4 ,adams's family4 
,the old ,president sat in a large      
stuffed arm-chair1 dressed in a blue    
coat1 black small-clothes1    white     
stockings2 a cotton cap covered his bald
 head4 ,we made our    compliment1 told 
him he must let us join our             
congratulations to those    of the      
nation on the happiness of his house4   
,he thanked us1 and said3    8,i am     
rejoiced1 because the nation is happy4  
,the time of gratulation    and         
congratulations is nearly over with me3 

,i am astonished that ,i    have lived  
to see and know of this event4 ,i have  
lived now nearly a    century2 he was   
ninety in the following ,october3 a     
long1 harassed1    and distracted       
life40--,i said1 8,the world thinks a   
good deal of joy    has been mixed with 
it40--8,the world does not know10 he    
replied1 8how    much toil1 anxiety1 and
 sorrow ,i have suffered40--,i asked if 
,mr4    ,adams's letter of acceptance   
had been read to him4--8,yes10 he said1 
and1 added1 8,my son has more political 
prudence than any man that    ,i know   
who has existed in my time2 he never was
 put off his guard3    and ,i hope he   
will continue such2 but what effect age 
may work in    diminishing the power of 
his mind1 ,i do not know2 it has been   
very    much on the stretch1 ever since 
he was born4 ,he has always been        
laborious1 child and man1 from          
infancy40--,when ,mr4 ,j4 ,q4 ,adams's  
age    was mentioned1 he said1 8,he is  
now fifty-eight1 or will be in ,july02  

and remarked that 8all the ,presidents  
were of the same age3 ,general          
,washington was about fifty-eight1 and  
,i was about fifty-eight1 and    ,mr4   
,jefferson1 and ,mr4 ,madison1 and ,mr4 
,monroe40--,we inquired when he         
expected to see ,mr4 ,adams4--,he said3 
8,never3 ,mr4 ,adams will not come    to
 ,quincy but to my funeral4 ,it would be
 a great satisfaction to me    to see   
him1 but ,i don't wish him to come on my
 account40--,he spoke of    ,mr4        
,lechmere1 whom he 8well remembered to  
have seen come down daily1    at a great
 age1 to walk in the old                
town-house10--adding1 8,and ,i wish     
,i could walk as well as he did4 ,he was
 ,collector of the ,customs    for many 
years under the ,royal                  
,government40--,e4 said3 8,i suppose1   
sir1 you would not have taken his place1
 even to walk as well as    he40--8,no10
 he replied1 8that was not what ,i      
wanted40--,he talked of    ,whitefield1 
and 8remembered when he was a ,freshman 

in ,college1 to    have come into town  
to the ,old ,south church1 ,i think1 to 
hear    him1 but could not get into the 
house2--,i however1 saw him10 he said1  
8through a window1 and distinctly heard 
all4 ,he had a voice such as    ,i never
 heard before or since4 ,he cast it out 
so that you might hear    it at the     
meeting-house1 pointing towards the     
,quincy meeting-house1    and he had the
 grace of a dancing-master1 of an actor 
of plays4    ,his voice and manner      
helped him more than his sermons4 ,i    
went with    ,jonathan ,sewall40--8,and 
you were pleased with him1              
sir80--8,pleased6    ,i was delighted   
beyond measure40--,we asked if at       
,whitefield's return    the same        
popularity continued4--8,not the same   
fury10 he said1 8not    the same wild   
enthusiasm as before1 but a greater     
esteem1 as he    became more known4 ,he 
did not terrify1 but was admired40      
,we spent about an hour in his room4 ,he
 speaks very distinctly for so  old a   

man1 enters bravely into long sentences1
 which are interrupted by  want of      
breath1 but carries them invariably to a
 conclusion1 without  correcting a word4
    ,he spoke of the new novels of      
,cooper1 and 8,peep at the ,pilgrims10  
and 8,saratoga10 with praise1 and named 
with accuracy the characters  in them4  
,he likes to have a person always       
reading to him1 or company  talking in  
his room1 and is better the next day    
after having visitors  in his chamber   
from morning to night4    ,he received a
 premature report of his son's election1
 on ,sunday  afternoon1 without any     
excitement1 and told the reporter he had
  been hoaxed1 for it was not yet time  
for any news to arrive4 ,the  informer1 
something damped in his heart1 insisted 
on repairing to the  meeting-house1 and 
proclaimed it aloud to the congregation1
 who were  so overjoyed that they rose  
in their seats and cheered thrice4 ,the 
,reverend ,mr4 ,whitney dismissed them  
immediately4           99       99      

99       99       99    ,when life has  
been well spent1 age is a loss of what  
it can well  spare1--muscular strength1 
organic instincts1 gross bulk1 and works
  that belong to these4 ,but the central
 wisdom1 which was old in infancy1  is  
young in fourscore years1 and1 dropping 
off obstructions1 leaves in  happy      
subjects the mind purified and wise4 ,i 
have heard that whoever  loves is in no 
condition old4 ,i have heard1 that1     
whenever the name of  man is spoken1 the
 doctrine of immortality is announced2  
it cleaves  to his constitution4 ,the   
mode of it baffles our wit1 and no      
whisper  comes to us from the other     
side4 ,but the inference from the       
working  of intellect1 hiving knowledge1
 hiving skill1--at the end of life just 
ready to be born1--affirms the          
inspirations of affection and of the    
moral sentiment4      ,,the ,,end4      
,cambridge3 ,printed by ,welch1         
,bigelow1 and ,company4                 
,,footnotes3      ,a ,dr4 ,thomas       

,brown4    ,b ,iliad1 ,,iii4 #aia4    ,c
 ,diary1 ,i4 #afi4                      
,,transcriber',s ,,notes3               
,italicized text is surrounded by       
underscores3 italics4      ,obvious     
typographical errors have been          
corrected4      ,inconsistencies in     
hyphenation have been standardized4     
,archaic or variant spelling has been   
retained4      ,the cover image for this
 e,book was created by the transcriber  
using      the original cover and is    
entered into the public domain4